Bang
by 64thestarkidwholived
Summary: Jonas is gone. The memories slowly come as flashbacks to the Community's citizens when the memories can tie in to their lives. Asher can't stand it, feeling that he causes emotional pain to the children when he plays with them. Lily is going to...(SPOILER!), so the two can only do one thing-escape.
1. Little Games

Lily's POV

"Jonas! He's gone! He took Gabe!" I hear Father call out. I rise groggily from my bed, sitting up until my still-sleeping mind can swallow the words I hear. Once I am awake enough to understand, I am struck dumb. _Jonas. Gabe. Gone? _My thoughts, barely awake, are vague and incomplete, to which my Instructors would disapprove, but I can understand myself fine.

Jonas, you see, is - was - the Receiver. I heard at the Ceremony that without the Receiver, we will all be in pain. Great pain, even worse than when a blundering dark-haired Female in my group, Wendelyn, hit my nose unintentionally with her arm - followed with an Apology and a pain-relief pill. I don't want to suffer that way, not to mention the shame on Mother and Father. What if they're Released? I could never survive by myself without a family unit. And there's another feeling I have, one that feels horrible. Like when I had to give up my Elly...Elefint, was it? No, Elephant, like when I lost my Elephant, but much worse.

Gabe, however, is a Newchild. I would not have known him, but Father was bringing him to our Dwelling for the nights to help Gabe sleep. He was going to be Released today. I knew I'd miss him. He was fun to play with, like having a little friend. And here I am now, missing him as I roll out of bed.

"Father?" I call out. "They're gone?" I see him in the Dwelling's doorway, eyes wide, face lighter than usual, even in the dark nighttime.

He sees me, and tries to look less nervous. "Oh, we don't know that," He fakes a smile, but I know he thinks everything that I am thinking, and more. He was responsible for Jonas and Gabe, so he will suffer great consequences to add to the pain we will all get if Jonas is truly gone. I am so nervous I don't even point out the fact that he lied, which is against the rules.

"What're you going to do?" I ask, voice quivering.

"Everyone will be searching. Now, go to sleep. School doesn't start at night, and you have a big day of learning ahead."

Asher's POV

"Wake up, Asher!" Mother knocks gently on the door. I roll over, onto my back, open my eyes, and grin. This week, my job is to play with the Eights for an hour a day. A few Male Eights had asked me to play Bang when I play with them. I don't like playing Bang much anymore, since it just makes me think of how Jonas hadn't liked when I played it. But the Males like it, and the Females surely must as well so, as the Assistant Director of Recreation, I must play Bang.

I prepare for my job and, dressed, fed, and energized as always, I bound out the Dwelling door, run to my bicycle, and get riding toward the field to play Bang. As soon as I am too far away from my Dwelling to run back, and still be on time to play with the Eights, I realize I forgot my pills, which I have taken since the dream that I had when I was a Ten that my groupmate, Harmony, was being held in my arms like a Newchild, me cradling her head with one hand, the other arm wrapped around her, but her feet were touching the ground. I wouldn't have remembered the dream, but I had asked my mother some weeks ago why I had begun to take the pills. I shouldn't be asking, but I never was one to stick too diligently to rules.

I am disappointed in myself for forgetting the pills, but I don't have time to get them. Besides, I get a guilty kind of enjoyment from neglecting them, and enjoying things I shouldn't is something I've always liked. I decide to go on with my day, but try not to forget too often to take them.

I am very near the Outdoor Recreation Field, so I dismount my bicycle to walk the rest of the way. Suddenly, before I can take a step, I hear a Female voice shout, "Asher! Hello!" Fiona. One of my best friends, besides Jonas, of course. She rides over on her bicycle and dismounts beside me.

"Hey, how are you?" I ask.

"Great, how are you?" She smiles. I like seeing her smile. I can only describe Fiona in one way - cute. It's a strange adjective for someone my age. Cute is the way I describe Newchildren as well. She doesn't look like a baby, but has the same appeal to me.

"Oh, I'm good," I reply.

"Hey, Asher, I need to get going. The Old, you know, there are lots of them. We all need to be there on time. Maybe we can talk later, if we run into each other!" She mounts her bicycle once again, waves, and is gone as soon as she had come. I wish we could have had a longer conversation, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. We've all got jobs to do, and it keeps the community balanced.

I am wallowing in my thoughts as I walk the rest of the way to my job when I see excited Eights run toward my area of the field, followed by the Instructor, Martha, who will be standing far away so I can do my job. It's a Rule, to keep everyone working in Recreation at ease, not being in the midst of the prying eyes of Instructors.

I know that Eights can be unruly, but I've done this lots of times to younger ages. I'm sure I can manage these Males and Females. They can't be much harder to manage than I was. "This game is called Bang," I begin, casting a smile at the Males who had so longed to play. _Don't talk too fast, _I think, _don't mess up your grammar_. "Here's how you play: Put your fingers like this-" I demonstrated the hand position required for the game, smallest, index, and middle fingers of both hands folded over one another, and thumbs up. "-and point it at someone-" I pointed my fingers at a light-haired Female. "And...yell...BANG!" The little Female giggles, delighted by Bang.

The Eights spread around the field, fingers ready, and I leap behind a bush, hands in the formation as well, and yell "GO!" The field erupts in shouts of "BANG! You're dead!" and I'm enjoying the fun. Suddenly, a light-haired Male jumps up before me and shouts, "Bang!"

I feel...pain. My eyes close, and reopen again. I am on a field, but no Eights are. There are adults all around, some standing, making explosions come from big metal objects in their hands. _Guns_ and _war _come to my mind. I look down at my fingers and clasp them into the Bang position. _Gun. _

I am laying on the ground among others. we are laying in a pool of...something. I think it's water at first, but it smells bad and it looks...different. I am aware of an inwardly-eating pain in my abdomen. the strange water is pooling from there, but I can't think of what it may be because I am in searing pain I have never thought could exist. I close my eyes as I feel the strength leaving me, worse and worse, when an adult Male comes by and presses a button on the _gun. _I lose all my strength and fall limp.

I open my eyes again, back in the Community. Many Eights are shivering or twitching on the grass, some are sobbing, and some are laying limp. What happened? Did they think the same thing as me? No, not a thought, more vivid, like remembering when Jonas got mad that I played Bang. Wait - that's it, it's a memory. But where do I remember that from? And why do they as well?

Soon, the limp Eights wake, shaking or crying like the already conscious children. "A-A-Asher," a light-haired Male stutters. "Maybe B-Bang isn't a good game to play today."


	2. Catchphrases

**I'd just like to clarify that I know that the Catchphrase scene isn't funny. I just figured maybe they'd have a slightly changed sense of humor, if they have such differing society**

Lily's POV

Shaking involuntarily, as half of my group mates are, I trudge back to the school building with the other Eights, Martha - who Asher had rushed across the field to come and comfort us - and Asher. The Instructor and Asher are moving from Eight to Eight, desperately trying to cheer us up.

"We have Math now, Iris, you like Math, right?"

"Hey, wanna hear a funny story?"

I don't see any improvements on anyone's condition. A friend of mine walking beside me, a Female named Beatrice, has taken to wringing her hands and mumbling to herself. Every few moments she will thrash about a bit with her arm or foot. I wonder with whom she believes she's interacting. Suddenly I see Asher approaching.

"Hi, Lily," He's trying to get me to feel happy, but nothing can erase the gory images from my head. I have never felt so sad.

"Hello, Asher," I try to smile a bit. I know Asher well enough to try to have a conversation.

"How's Jonas doing?" He asks. It's strange, seeing him without the playful bouncy spring in his step, but I'd be more puzzled if he was still so happy after such a horrible scene.

_No, _I think, _Jonas. _I understand what happened now. I had heard if a Receiver left, we'd receive the memories they hold. "Jonas is gone," I whisper. "In Elsewhere. He escaped. Probably died by now. He won't return ever again." The words make me feel the way that the hole in my stomach pouring out strange water, _blood,_ had made me feel.

"Jonas is...he's..." Asher looks as sad as the people in the memory had looked. I nod, but I try to hold back tears, being among my groupmates. Asher is gulping repeatedly, head down, so I think he must be as well. Strange, seeing him like this, considering his usual jovial personality.

"So, the memory was one of Jonas'..." Asher mutters, looking a bit dazed. I hadn't thought of that. That explains my brother's strange silence, gazing around with odd looks on his face. He had so many memories like the war memory floating in his head, it's a wonder he managed it all, dealing with the pain on his own. All of the children playing Bang had had the memory, but he was alone in the horror and gore.

"And more will come," I am terrified, as if my saying it makes it so.

"They must come when they're like something going on, I think. Like how apples make me remember playing catch with Jonas with an apple once," Asher realizes. I nod solemnly, agreeing with his guess.

"We are slowly going to get the pain he had gotten, Asher," I say to him, eyes widening.

Tonight, my family unit eats silently. No Jonas, though he was so quiet after becoming a Twelve, and no Gabe, though we didn't have him for long, the meal feels wrong. Suddenly, we hear a voice. The voice that comes often through the speakers to tell us things, mainly about rules. We know the voice so well, it is familiar, but we are not prepared for what we hear.

"Tomorrow after dinner, Katrina, Amos, and Lily, family of Jonas, are due to be Released," The voice crackles from the speakers. Released? We will be disgraced in the Community, which bothers me even if we will be Elsewhere. And Jonas and Gabe must be dead by now, so we wouldn't even see them. And why am I to be released? I understand my parents were supposed to raise their son better, but I am just his younger sister.

"Katrina," my father asks. "Why is Lily to be Released?" She shakes her head, indicating that she isn't sure. So they agree. But there are no mistakes here. I know it.

"We can check the Rules," my mother decides, lifting the large book from the nearly empty shelf and rummaging around to the section titled "Releases".

"A child older than a Two whose parents are both to be Released," Father reads, "is a Parentless Child. The child is to be Released with the parents, as the child is neither Newchild nor Adult." Father looks up from the Rule-book. "Well, there it is. Lily is going to join us."

Asher's POV

I wake up the same time I do every day this morning, but something's missing - me. Every day I wake with a smile, go through my day with a grin, and sleep with a happy expression. It has become me, and I am surprised to wake with a sense of dread. I have to go back to play with the Eights today. I enjoy the games well enough, and we aren't playing Bang today, but I don't want to cause them to get more painful memories. I hate inflicting displeasure on others.

I roll out of bed, get ready, and am about to leave the Dwelling, when I remember I haven't taken my pills yet. I am about to rush back inside and get them, but then I realize something: I liked not having the pills. I loved the way I felt around Fiona. I don't want to give it up. I continue outside, straddle my bicycle, and head on my way once again to the field.

"The game we are going play today is called Catchphrases." I begin some time later, standing before the lot of fidgeting Eights. I am nervous this time, scared to mess something up. I point to a dark-haired Female and two Males, one with curly dark hair, the other with cheerful eyes, and signal for the three to approach me. "What are your names?"I ask them. The Female introduces herself as Jaime, the smiling Male goes by Darren, and and the Male with cheerful eyes is named Petey.

"Now, I need you all to raise your hands if you can think of a funny line or phrase," I say to the Eights. Various children oblige, waving their small hands as high in the air as they can. I call on a Male and a Female, both with dark hair. "Whisper your phrase to Darren," I tell the Female. "And you whisper yours to Jaime," I instruct the Male. They do so, and I continue explaining. "Now, the phrases Darren and Jaime received are the only lines they can say, no matter what is going on in this game. Petey can improvise and say whatever he would like. Petey, start the scene."

Petey takes a moment to think, but then begins. "Jaime, could you go change Newchild Thirty-Eight?"

"You're too young for a bicycle," Jaime smiles. This is Jaime's catchphrase. The Male must have been feeling bitter about being an Eight, a year short of riding a bicycle.

"I...I didn't ask for one," Petey says, carrying on the scene.

"Then where are the fish from?" Darren asks, reciting his assigned phrase.

"The boats! The water! Not my bicycle!" Petey replies, holding in laughs.

"You're too young for a bicycle," Jaime says, pointing at Darren this time.

"Why, he's a Newchild!" Petey exclaims. I know Martha wouldn't approve of talking Newchildren, and I am glad she is in another place in the Recreation Field. "You're too young for a bicycle!" Jaime adds. "We'd best get him to sleep now," Petey suggests. "Then where do the fish come from?" Darren moans.

"I think we can handle the fish without you, Thirty-Eight," Petey says with a false-comforting voice, imitating the soothing murmurs of Nurturers. The Eights all laugh, watching Petey and Jaime pretend to put Darren to sleep.

"You know, I'm rather exhausted from this day of work. Maybe I should nap like a Newchild," Petey says to Jaime, laying down on the ground.

Darren leans on an elbow and faces him with a feigned worried expression. "_Then _where do the fish come from?" The Eights laugh even harder at that.

"Thirty-Eight, I'm a Nurturer. There are other jobs for that," Petey explains, and the two Males pretend to go to sleep. Suddenly, I feel my eyes close. _No. Not another one, _I think, dreading every coming moment. Moments later, I reluctantly open my eyes to find I am on the ground, but I am not in a war or anything of the sort. I am in a room full of Males my age who all seem to be friends, and who seem to be friends with me, judging by their smiles and chattering. The Males are on the floor, sitting in small cloth beds that look like padded bags. I look down and realize I am in one of these as well. I wonder what they are for, until the words _sleeping bag _come to my mind. I have trouble wrapping my head around the concept. People slept in bags? I sleep in a bed in my Dwelling. And why are they all sleeping in one small room? Did every Male get placed into Dwellings with Males their age? How strange, how very strange...

Distracting me from my thoughts, a tall Male who, despite his height, looks my age as well, walks in. "Okay, we got three mattresses we can inflate and you guys are fifteen kids. Who's using the beds?"

Various Males raise their voices in argument over the beds. I suppose they didn't sleep in bags all the time.

I am letting this revelation sink in when i hear a voice, shouting across the room, stick out louder than the squabbling Males. "Hey, Brian, my mom's picking you up from here tomorrow. Then we can chill at my house and stuff."

Oh. So they have their own Dwellings as well. I am interested in this funny group of Males, but my eyes close involuntarily, signaling the end of the memory. I try to keep myself conscious in this scene a bit longer, but my eyelids defy me, and the memory is no longer surrounding me when I open my eyes.

Everyone around me is unconscious on the floor again, or waking up, but the difference between the two times in which we woke up from memories is that, this time, everyone is smiling. The conscious, the unconscious, those who are just waking now - all look so happy. Their easily distracted, underdeveloped minds have been completely diverted from the horror and pain we had all experienced yesterday. A gust of relief rushes into me like wind. I let the Eights run around freely and do what they wish since Martha, who would strongly disapprove of disorder, as does the Council, is out of earshot and too far to see us. When it is time for us to find Martha in another area of the field, the Eights have more of a spring in their step than they did yesterday, but I still feel like dragging my feet.


	3. Liberty

**Listen, I know that some of you might think the age gap is too large for a crush, but if Taz and Up can be an ADORABLE ship, so can they.**

Lily's POV

"Hey, Lily, what's wrong? Didn't you like playing today?" Asher asks me, noticing that I haven't brightened up since yesterday.

"A-A-Asher, my friends Iris and Beatrice drowned themselves this morning. The Speaker confirmed that they jumped into the river by choice. I had thought they looked quite affected by the memory yesterday How odd, to want to end yourself such a grim way. Nobody ever liked them much, they were both always a bit odd. But I liked them," I tell him, trying not to cry. "And, Asher, I'm going to be Released today. But I don't want to go to Elsewhere. I want to..." I sniffed, tears approaching. "Oh, I apologize for talking about others, rambling, and general obnoxious behavior."

Asher looks at me sadly. "It's not obnoxious. But, you can't leave - I-I'll miss you," he stammers. This catches me off guard. We have become friends over the years, talking or playing when Jonas was busy, but missing people who are gone is simply obsolete. I am even more surprised to find myself reply genuinely, "I'll miss you too."

I really will miss him very much. His humor, his laugh, and the way he looks. I like his thick eyebrows, his big nose, the way his hair never did seem to lay flat. Since I was a Seven, I would pretend in my mind that Asher was assigned to be my Spouse. I know that imagining such things is against the Rules, but I couldn't help thinking.

"Lily," He begins, brows furrowed in thought. "I have a plan. I can't handle never seeing you ever again. You're quite likely my best friend now, with Jonas gone and Fiona so busy." This makes me wonder - does he ever wonder if I'll be his Spouse? "And I-I can't stand causing these group mates of yours pain from the memories my games trigger. It feels like...like...like the _war _memory, a stab in the middle. I need to get away from this." He begins to choke up, eyes getting watery. "But we can't do anything. We just must brave it all," I reply cautiously, now wondering what he has in store.

"Listen, Lily, we need to escape. For both our sakes, you can't go to Elsewhere. Not without me. Meet me by the river today, before dinner. Bring nothing. We are getting out."

After school, being too young for bicycles, I walk to my Dwelling alone. I sit in my room on my bed, thinking. Today I will either be freed or drowned, but I will inevitably never see my room ever again. I am very puzzled by this longing. I never feel this way, so why do I feel a pull to stay in my Dwelling?

Only mere moments pass when I feel my eyes close. I know this well now, but I am now unsure of whether to dread or to be excited to explore the past, now that I have been exposed to both such scenes.

When my eyes reopen, I am sitting on a large cube in a bedroom. I am surprised, when I look around, to see various sizes of other boxes with flaps stuck down on the tops and bottoms. I stand up, and I see words on the boxes. _Clothes. Shoes. Textbooks. Bedding._ I am wondering what these all are for - I know what most of these mean, and I think textbooks must be books with text within them - when I hear a voice.

"Are you packed?" A Female adult rings out from another room. A single word leaps into my head - _college_. I am full of feelings, the way I felt when I realized I'd never see Asher again combined with how I had felt when he propose that we escape. I know that, whatever this _college _is, it is preventing me from being in my Dwelling, which I am sad to leave, but will change everything drastically. I stand to walk out of the door, and I am in the doorway when I feel my eyelids slip downward.

I feel neither relief nor longing to return to the memory when I see my own walls and bed again, which surprises me. This is the first memory of Jonas' which has been neither distinctly pleasant or scarring.

I am shaken by the sudden realization that our dinners will be delivered soon, and I am therefore due to be meeting Asher by the lake now. I take a final look around and call out, "I'm going to play with my friends!" - which technically isn't a lie, as Asher is my friend - as my final words in my Dwelling, my home, before I cross outside of the threshold forever.

Asher's POV

Sitting on the bank of the river, which stretches far longer than the eye can see across the horizon, I scan the area of Community land in my view, searching for Lily. Is she too scared? She's going to choose Release and an eternity without me over escape with me? I feel the way I had felt with the big hole in my abdomen, all the world ending around me, being torn apart from the inside. Suddenly, I notice movement in the corner of my eye. Turning to the right, startled, I am relieved to see Lily. I never would tell Jonas this, but I sometimes fantasize about Lily being assigned as my Spouse. I'm sure that raising children would be fun with her. She, always having been a practical Female, would always make sure they did their homework, and I would make them laugh and play with them. Maybe where we are going, we will be Spouses to each other. If she feels the same way that I feel, if her stomach flips when I talk to her, like mine does when she speaks.

"Lily, are you ready?" I ask her. We have nothing with us except for the clothing on our bodies, because we haven't anything else to bring. Food can't be taken - which Jonas had learned the hard way - and dinner is delivered, from which there wouldn't have been time to take. "Yes...I think. I'm scared, but this is my only option if I want to see you again," She replies shyly.

"Okay, so, I'll get into the river and hold on to the bank. Then, you get in and grab into my back. I can swim faster than the two of us combined," I joke, trying to make her smile in this grim time.

She giggles briefly and quietly, nodding, and I begin to slowly make my descent one limb after another into the frigid current, leaving the world I have always known to face either the chains of death or the first sweet breaths of freedom.


	4. Just Keep Swimming

Lily's POV

My first thought when I slip into the water in the river is _cold. _I have never had cold such as this. I have had only slightly warm, and a bit less warm, and that's just for food. I have never been immersed in such frigid water, air, or anything, really_. _The water penetrates my skin and seems to flow through my heart, making me want to be cold and bitterly salty, just like the river. But I have to keep breathing and think _warm _in the hope of getting used to this pain. I know that the hard part is yet to come, though - when we begin our aimless search for a better home. I am motivated to persevere by the fact that maybe we can find Jonas - and due to the fact that I could never live a life without Asher.

"Lily!" Asher screams. He's still clinging to the shore, and I am holding on to him for dear life. I can hardly hear his voice over the deafening roar of the waters around us. "I'll let go soon, and I'll have to swim as fast as I can, so we can find land quickly. You'll have to swim a bit. Can't hold two people very long. _Don't speak. Don't think. _All is lost if one of us gets a memory and goes unconscious."

This puzzles me. "I can't help thinking, Asher!" I cry out, getting more and more terrified every moment.

"Then...repeat in your head...'Just keep swimming,'" He decides.

"Just keep swimming?" I repeat.

"Now you've got it!" He screams, letting his hands release the land anchoring us to our pasts.

Asher's POV

I have a confession to make. Remember when I said I can swim good - er, well? I was just trying to comfort Lily. In all honesty, I was the young Five who sank the moment he was placed in the pool. And nothing has changed - but now I have something to swim for, besides myself. Lily is what is keeping me afloat. I am trying harder for her to survive.

_Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming, _I repeat endlessly in my head as I swim with the current. I've been swimming with her arms wrapped around my neck for, what, an hour? My neck aches, and my arms and legs have gone numb.

"Li-Lily," I gasp. "You've gotta swim by yourself a bit. The extra strain is hurting me. Just for a little bit, though. And hold my hand," I tell her. "So I don't lose you in the current," I add quickly. Lily obliges, unclasping her fingers that had met beneath my chin for so long that their absence felt alien to me and grabbing my left hand with her right. The two of us continue swimming through the now less-freezing, but still as salty water.

_Just keep swimming...Just keep s- _Suddenly, I am alarmed by a downward pull on my arm. _Lily. _Frantically, I look down to see her unconsciously drifting a few inches underwater.I can't let go of the now drowning Female slipping further and further under the water, held up only by my hand clenching her limp wrist. I use all of my strength to heave Lily into my arms, but our breakfasts were never meant to supply us for an escape, and I feel, for once, my once limitless energy give out and I can't stay above the water. Lily's weight drags me below the water, but I can't let go of the beautiful, lively Female. Gulping in water that overcomes my lungs, I feel my eyelids shut slowly, and I think it's another memory at first, but this feels different. I can feel my body shut down, feel myself slowly...falling...asleep...


	5. The Amazing Miriam Shmirtzer

**I know the whole "Jewish woman" thing is a bit strange, but I felt that, if I'm using the Mediterranean, I may as well.**

Lily's POV

I wake beneath a blanket in an unfamiliar bedroom. My dark hair is a bit wet, and the window shows the carnivorous darkness of twilight is prowling about. I glance around the room, puzzled. Where am I?

_River. Escape. Asher. _Asher! Is he alive? I last remember swallowing an enormous gulp of the water, and I can't remember anything later.

"Miriam, we cannot afford two hungry mouths extra to feed," A Male adult's voice whispers in a nearby room. Two mouths...one must be mine, and the other is... Asher - he's here! I feel like celebrating, but when I sit up, all of my muscles seem to collapse in a shivering heap of mortal pain and weakness.

"Listen, Joseph, listen to yourself. They're weak, starving, and foreign to the town, not to mention young. Imagine it - children, going all the way across the _Mediterranean!_ Besides, I think we can handle helping them. Got the two breathing again. Poor dears had lungs full of water. It's a wonder that they could be revived," A Female adult, Miriam, argues. What's this Mediterranean? The river? I suppose these people must have their own name for it.

"Okay, fine. We can keep them with us and get them healthy, but I don't want to be on the streets because you had to keep these kids," Joseph agrees reluctantly.

I am listening curiously, intently, trying to stay quiet so I don't bother them, when a strange feeling takes over my nose. It's as though I've just eaten a bit of a tunic. What is happening? Suddenly, I feel it sliding out of my nose, whipping my head forward with a sound like _CHOO!_

I am hoping the two adults are too busy with their conversation to hear this, but Miriam rushes in. She has light, very straight hair, and looks to be as old as Mother. Her eyes light up, and she cries happily, "Joseph! The girl is awake!"

I suppose that my greeting is not along the narrow line of Manners, but it is all that mattered to me, all that comes to mind. "Where is Asher?" I know he's here, but I want to see him. I miss Asher.

She looks surprised. "What is Asher?"

"My...My friend," I inform her. "My best friend."

"Oh, the little boy down the hall in my son's old room? I'll see if he's alive - er, I mean awake," She doesn't want to frighten me, but I am scared out of my wits. What if Asher - the one I had envisioned as my Spouse, who means everything to me - is gone?

"Y-Yes, thank you. My name's Lily," I introduce myself. "What's yours?" I know her name, but I feel that this is a matter of politeness, making up for my rude greeting.

"The name's Miriam, honey. You look a bit thin - I'll make you some pasta, maybe some of that brisket I bought last Sunday..." Miriam, still muttering her meal plans for me, leaves the room to go check on Asher.

Asher's POV

When I wake on a strange sofa, light streaming through partially covered windows, I can't remember anything. How did I get here? Where are my parents, and Phillipa?

The memories of water, Lily, and the desperate need to leave all I've ever known return to my mind. I bolt up, instinctively wanting to find her, wanting to know if she is still alive, but I am forced back down by a throbbing pain in my head. Moaning, I almost don't notice a Female adult peer in the door. When, with a start, I notice this visitor, I feel a strange sense of vulnerability. In the Community, we aren't allowed even in another's Dwelling, let alone as I sleep. This place I have drifted into must have other rules, I suppose. I turn to face her and croak, "Hello. My name is Asher." A bit too forward? Perhaps, but this abrupt introduction is my way of saying "Thanks for not letting me drown".

This peculiar savior of mine shrieks excitedly. "Lily, dear, your friend's awake!"

_Lily. She's alive. _I feel all of my homesick, terrified, confused emotions melt away. She's here, too. I didn't lose her. Thank goodness. I guess I must have held on to her in my unconsciousness as well as the time I spent alert in the river.

I plant my hands firmly on the mattress and attempt to rise again, but this adult rushes over. "No, no, dear, not yet. You're a bit weak from being in that sea for heaven knows how long! No food, straight swimming, you'll be on bed rest for a while." Seeing my despair at this, she smiles sympathetically. "Miss your friend? Don't worry, maybe you or little Lily will be strong enough soon to stand up and visit one another. But not yet. Now, I'd like to make you something to eat. I'll make you and Lily my specialties - pasta salad, and brisket made with Pepsi! Yep, a good, home-cooked meal made by me, the _amazing _Miriam Shmirtzer!"


	6. Hertzeliya

Lily's POV

Miriam enters the room again in about an hour, holding a tray with a plate of food. I instantly figure that she must have already given Asher food, because I can't imagine her giving me food, and not him. I recognize the pasta on the tray, but I have never seen this strange strip of food wallowing in a puddle of liquid on my plate before.

"Miriam?" I ask. "What is this?" I point to the strange object. I worry that this may be rude, but I am curious.

"Sweetie, it's just brisket in gravy. Beef. The Pepsi really isn't as strange as it sounds. Go on, try it," She smiles, urging me to eat this _brisket. _And what is beef? and Pepsi? She said the words like everyone should know these things.

Apprehensively, I jab my fork into this brisket and bring it toward my mouth. I'm _starving. _The Council wouldn't approve of such words, but I truly do feel starved today. And they'll never see me again.

This strange food tastes...great. I grin graciously at Miriam, and eat ravenously. She smiles and asks, "Dear, have you ever had beef before?"

I think back a bit and reply, "No."

She sits down on the side of the bed. "Where'd you come from, anyway?"

I don't know. We always referred to our home simply as our Community, and nothing more. This realization shows me how long I've been in the dark about everything in our Community and Elsewhere, and I begin to sob. Face in hands, a small part of me is embarrassed to cry in front of Miriam, who I've only just met, but I already feel comfortable around this savior of mine, not to mention that, well, I can't help it. I just floated to some strange place from all I've ever known.

Miriam wraps her arms around me, which feels strange at first, but I get used to the feeling of closeness quickly. After a few minutes, my weeping subsides into sniffling.

"It was all Sameness," I tell her suddenly.

She looks at me quizzically. "What was? And what is that?"

"My Community. And Sameness, well, made everything seem the same. We had light and dark - not these strange variations here," I explain, gesturing to everything around the room. "We didn't have many things you have here."

"Like brisket and beef!" She realizes. I nod.

"Well, Lily, now you're here in Herzelia. Anyway, I've got to go make dinner. Joseph, my husband, has been working in his office almost all day. I'll make you and Asher some food, too. I'll cook all of my son's favorite foods. He's in college now, in America," Miriam turns toward the doorway, leaving me to wonder what America and college are.

"Oh, and that 'variation' you noticed?" She turns her head around. "It's called color. I'll explain it later today."

Asher's POV

Brisket. Cow. Color. Pepsi. All of these things Miriam told me about when she gave me food today are so...different from all I've ever known. But I like it. Why did my Community never let us have this? These things aren't harmful. They're interesting - and that's coming from me, the one who has been distracted by blank walls in the past.

"Asher?" Miriam walks in, startling me. I look up and smile at her. "Are you hungry? Or do you want to sleep now? I did give you food only two hours ago," She says.

"I think I want to sleep now. I'm still exhausted from all the swimming. Thanks, though. For everything," I tell her sincerely.

She smiles. "You know, you weren't awake the first few times Lily asked me to check on you. She was really devastated. She woke up at night, and you woke the next morning. She was asking me repeatedly. She really cares about you."

I have to burrow my lower jaw beneath the edge of the blanket and clench my jaw to prevent my big, stupid grin from showing. Does that mean she thinks about me the same way I think about her?

"Well," She says suddenly, looking like she can tell that I'm failing to hide a smile. "I guess you should sleep now. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Asher."


	7. Learning What Matters

Lily's POV

I think I'm really figuring these things out. Every day, Miriam comes into my room - I'm still on bed rest - and teaches me about this other place I'm in now, Hertzelia.

"Good morning, Lily," Miriam walks in. I woke up an hour or so prior to her entrance, but I spent the past hour thinking about my past, my future, and, well, Asher. I haven't seen him in a week, since that day when we began our escape. I miss him so much, but Miriam says we're both still not up to the strength. How much time passed, anyway, after being it that river - which Miriam told me she calls the Mediterranean Sea? Was I out for five days? A week? I don't know how long I was floating in the water, but Miriam told me yesterday that I was lying on this bed for three days before waking.

"Hey, Miriam?" I ask with a grin. "Can I have some _green _tea in the _blue a_nd _white _mug with the _Israeli _flag on it?" I am jokingly displaying use of some of the colors Miriam taught me, and the place she told me I'm living in now.

"Good job!" Miriam congratulates me. "Now, what color is...this?" She gestures to the lamp.

I have no trouble with this one. It's my favorite. "Pink!" I shout.

"Nice!" She sits on the edge of the bed. "So, any questions? About anything?"

I think long and hard until I remember a question that has gnawed at me for two days. "Why are your fingernails that color today? Um...red, I think? They were like mine a few days ago. Did you hurt your hand? It looks too shiny to be blood, right?" I know it's likely rude, but I'm curious, and my bond with Miriam is almost like the bond I had with my friends, mixed with the way a Nurturer cares for a Newchild.

She glances down at her fingers. "Ohhhhhh," Miriam squeals, a devilish smile growing on her face. "You're going to love this. Lily, sweetie, I'm about to introduce you to being a little girl in the non-Sameness world. Later today, after lunch. Oooh, you'll love it!"

Asher's POV

I hate being confined to this bed. Not that the extra sleep isn't great, I just want to go outside and see this new world I've encountered. Oh, and Lily. I want to see Lily more than anything. I haven't seen her in over a week, and I can't stand the isolation.

I am laying down feeling sorry for myself when Miriam walks in. I'm a bit startled, but I have been getting used to this. She must be here to teach me a bit. She usually teaches me colors, since I can't quite get the hang of those things.

"Morning, Asher!" She says brightly. "Ready for a color review?" She asks. _Again, _I add to myself. Why am I so dumb sometimes? there aren't that many colors!

Miriam points to her shirt. "What color is this?"

I always forget this one. It's too confusing. "Um...blue?" I guess.

"Purple, dear. Nice try, though! When red and blue colors mix, they _make _purple," She glances around the room. "What about this?" She points to my blanket.

"Yellow?" I ask.

"Green, Asher. But you'll get it soon!" She tries to encourage me, and points to a sphere on a shelf. "What colors are on this soccer ball?"

I don't even ask what a soccer ball is, I just think. I think so hard my brain feels like it's eating itself alive. Finally, I have a guess. "Black and white?"

Miriam raises a hand to me. _Wrong again? _I think sadly. She's probably going to hit me for getting so many wrong. I cringe, and she looks at me, confused. Suddenly, her face adopts a look of understanding. "Oh, Asher, you must not know what a high-five is. Maybe I can call in a boy your age to teach you these things. How old are you?"

I have to think hard to remember. I've been disregarding my past as much as I'm able to here. "I was a Twelve last year," I inform her. "So now I'm Thirteen."

"Thirteen, eh? Perfect time for learning these things. I'll try to get the boys from the neighborhood to come over," Miriam says, walking out the door. I can't help but be excited to meet Males - Miriam calls them boys - my age who know all of these amazing things I've learned here.


	8. Guys and Dolls

Lily's POV

I am laying in bed thinking when, three hours after I last saw her, Miriam enters with an armload of bags. "This," she says with a grin as she points to the bags. "Is just about the most fun thing you will ever do at this age."

She pulls out three rectangular boxes, all my favorite color. One side of each one is like a little window, revealing little people in pretty clothing. On the side of each box reads a word. I recognize it easily because there was a Female at the last Naming who received this name - Barbie.

"These are what girls your age play with. Dolls," Miriam explains, placing them beside me. Two of the dolls have light hair, and one has dark hair. The light-haired ones remind me of Jonas, and I bring them closer to me.

"How do you play with these?" I say, not bothering to catch myself in not being precise. _She _probably doesn't play with dolls.

"Oh, right!" She smacks a palm to her forehead. "You've never played with them! Listen, I'll show you what else is in here first, and we can play with dolls."

Miriam pulls out a tiny pink bottle. "This is nail polish. Remember how my fingernails - you know what those are, right? - were red? Well, that's nail polish. Do you like this shade?" I nod vigorously. This color is so pretty, I wish I had this in my community.

"Great! I'll paint your nails soon. First, we _must _play Barbies," She lets out a giggle. "Never thought I'd say that again."

She finds scissors, cuts free the dolls, and begins to create a scene.

"This," She lifts the light-haired Barbie wearing a shirt that exposes her arms. "Is Brittany. She is hosting the party.

"She," Miriam holds up the light-haired doll wearing blue pants. "Is Ginevra.

"And the brunette," She waves the dark-haired Barbie in the air. "Is...Fiona."  
_Fiona._ I choke back a sob. Fiona was Jonas' friend. She was nice to me, so I miss her more than I even miss my mother and father.

"Is everything okay, Lily?" Miriam's eyebrows furrow.

"Can we - " I gasp and sniff, trying hard not to cry. " Can we skip dolls for today?"

Asher's POV

I hear the door opening downstairs. Miriam had told me she had gotten some children my age to come over. I was excited, but now I'm a bit nervous. What if I'm strange to them, being from a Sameness community?

"Good morning, Mrs. Shmirtzer," a voice says.

"Morning, boys. Now, be nice to him. He's new here, and he will probably be going to your school soon. His name's Asher, and he's from a place very different from ours. I'll go tell him you're here," Miriam rushes up the stairs.

"Asher, the boys are here. They're nice, but don't be shy. It's best that you learn how to be a thirteen-year-old boy before you go to school," Miriam looks nervous. I'm not quite sure why.

"I'm not the timid type," I assure her. "But, Miriam, I think I should be off of bed rest. You know, awkward way of meeting people, being stuck in a bed."

She laughs. "Okay, it's likely been long enough. Probably way too long. You must be itching to get up and run around. Go ahead, you're free."

She leaves after I demonstrate that I am indeed strong enough to stand, and three boys enter. The four of us stare at each other for what seems like a lifetime. These boys have circles of fabric on their heads and little wisps of hair by their ears.

"Hey," A tall, light-haired boy with an orange fabric circle on his head grins. He seems very confident, not shy at all. "Name's Meir."

The room returns to its deadly silence. "Come on, guys," Meir moans to the other two. "Say your names, or I'll feel awkward!"

"Haim," Mutters a boy who is on the taller side of height, with dark hair, a green(I think that's the name) circle on his head, and big ears.

"L-Levi," A short boy with black hair, which makes the yellow circle stand out more on his head, stammers. "S-S-Sorry, I stutter."

"S'okay," I blend my words, a laugh in the face of the community. "I'm Asher."

"What was Sameness like?" Haim blurts. "Sorry if it's rude, but I - "

"It's no problem," I tell him. "It wasn't much. Just, well, always the same. No color, barely emotions, nothing but life." Meir looks surprised. "Sounds...horrible."

"Yeah, it was. That's why Lily and I escaped," I tell them.

They look puzzled. "Wh-Who's L-L-Lily? Your s-s-sister?" Levi asks.

"A-A friend of mine, actually. I had a sister - Phillipa," I blush at talking about Lily.

Meir, bold, rash Meir grins. "Do you like her? Like, dreaming about her all the time and thinking about her and stuff?"

"She's three years younger than me," I tell them, not giving a straight answer. This kind of "like" he talks of doesn't sound like he means friendship with Lily. I lift an eyebrow slyly at them. I can tell that we are already becoming friends, which makes me miss Jonas. I hope to find him someday soon.

Levi grins. "S-So? D-Do ya?"

I can't avoid this. Lying isn't something I know how to do very well. "Yes, I guess I do 'like' Lily the way you say it. Just...don't tell her."


	9. Snow Angels

**Sorry if you understand the weird references(Fiddler on the Roof, One Direction, etc.). They were just...so needed.**

Lily's POV

"Lily?" Miriam walks into my room. "You and Asher can get up and walk around now. I'm positive you're up to full health as you were before."

I leap immediately out of bed and race out the door, no other goal in life but to find Asher. He is standing up, gazing outside through the open window.

"Asher!" I giggle. "I've missed you!"

He grins. "So I've heard. Missed you too. Lil, we gotta go outside. There's stuff falling from the sky out there. It's that light color - I think it's called either yellow or white."

I rush to the window, my first conscious look at the outside world. Children our age are running around outside, frolicking in the few tiny bits of white falling from the sky.

"Lily! Asher!" Miriam cries out, running in. "It's snowing!"

"S-Snowing?" Asher asks.

"It's like ice. Ooh, this never happens around here! Go out and play, you won't get to see this for a long time!" Miriam grins. "Heck, I'm considering joining you!"

Asher lights up and grabs my hand. He runs with me downstairs and outside, but we are hit with a cold gust of air, almost as cold as the river had been. I let out a tiny shriek, and we run inside.

We run into what seems to be where Miriam eats, and we are surprised to see a man talking to her. She smiles when she sees us. "Too cold? Dears, you're both just wearing old sweatpants and T-shirts. I'll see if I have any clothes from when my son and daughter were your ages. They're in college, though, so it's been a while. Joseph, this is Lily and Asher, the two children I've been caring for."

I smile shyly. I've never seen Joseph, he's always working. "H-Hello," Asher says.

Joseph stares at us for a moment. He has a thick black beard, brown eyes, and salt-and-pepper hair. His eyes crinkle with a small smile. "Hello, I am Miriam's husband, Joseph."

Joseph must be the quiet type of person, because his eyes turn to the floor, and we suffer what feels like a lifetime of silence.

"Well, I'll just go get you two some layers to pile on your clothes, and you can go outside," Miriam rushes upstairs.

Asher's POV

I think I like this _snow. _We didn't have things fall from the sky in the Community. But this snow is just...amazing. Little bits of cold water, hardened to form fragile little nets that try to capture us, but we're as free as they are. _I'm free. _Here, in Hertzelia, I feel like I can do anything. No required apologies - they're optional - no precise language, and less rules. I'm free.

The snow in Israel, it seems, is always a short-lived treat, when there is a time with it at all. The snowflakes melt minutes after we are outside. Disappointed, all of us children in the neighborhood trudge back into their houses.

Lily and I sit at the dining table together. We _need _to talk, I had told her in the snow.

"So, Miriam told me you made some friends," Lily begins.

"Yeah," I smile, remembering yesterday, with the three Males. "They're cool. We're going to school eventually. Same one as them."

"Really?" Lily has a strange fear-excitement combination on her face. Lily's never met the people our age around here, and I've only met three. "What'll it be like?"

"Surely not too different from our Community," I shrug, trying to appear nonchalant, rather than the overwhelming fear that is the reality.

"A-Asher?" She asks. "Will the others like me? Not many liked me in the Community. I was leaving nothing much, only the Community. I don't want to have the same problem here."

I smile a crooked, awkward smile and say with an impulsive boldness. "I like you. How could anyone not? Heck, I more than like you - I...uhm..." My voice trails off. I don't have a word for this. And if I did, would I want to say it? "I...really like you! You're my best friend!" I flash a goofy-looking grin at her, and she laughs. I like when she laughs, because she makes me want to smile more than I already do. Lily, well, she lights up my world like nobody else. And the great thing is, nobody can put out a light as bright as her.


	10. Disgust and Dreams of the Twisted Realms

Lily's POV

I've been in Hertzelia since January, being taught daily by Miriam, and sometimes Asher's friends come over to teach me about the lives of Nines around here. Now, it's mid-February, and I'm really getting how this life works. I've figured out dolls - it's all just controlling people against their will, which doesn't strike me as fun - and I've discovered a kind of food called candy, which is absolutely delightful to me in moderation, but pure edible nightmare when eaten too much.

I have taken to sitting on the front step of the Shmirtzer home every day after lunch, taking in everything around me. I still can't believe such amazing things such as color and animals stretch on so far past the horizon, and nobody around here even understands. I get many strange looks from the people who jog on the sidewalks, but I still can't get over how colorful their shoes are - almost overwhelming.

I am observing the new life that lays out before me when the front door opens with a quiet _whish._ "Lily," Miriam says, making me turn around and look up to face her. "Today is Thursday. When the weekend ends, I want you and Asher to go to school."

I don't bother arguing, and I just nod. I'm terrified, but also a bit relieved. I need to be around people, despite my awkward, timid disposition. Besides, I had to get the first day out of the way eventually.

At dinner, I sit beside Asher, with Miriam and Joseph on either ends of the table, as the arrangement has been since Asher and I began coming to the table for meals. We sit with the substance called beef on our plates, but in a disc-shaped, pressed form, between two discs of bread and a thick liquid known as ketchup - which Miriam and Joseph had to convince Asher and I wasn't blood - and a potato beside it.

Joseph and Miriam eat, but Asher and I are hesitant. This strange food displayed before us, completely foreign, doesn't look inedible. I pinch Asher's arm gently. When he turns to give me a puzzled look, I mouth, "I'll eat if you do."

He nods, and we both bring the discs to our mouths. I bite into the soft food, and I am unimpressed. The brisket certainly tasted better. This is not nearly as full of flavor, and the ketchup seems to be the only source of interesting tastes in the whole object.

Asher, however, seems to disagree. He closes his eyes, clearly relishing the moments that the beef is in his mouth. He sets it back down to grin at me. I give him a disturbed look. He likes this stuff?

Noticing my disgusted face, he gives me a huge smile and shoves half of the meal into his mouth. I smirk as he struggles to swallow. Hey, we may be friends, but I can't help laughing at that.

Asher's POV

Miriam has finally set a day for Lily and me to begin attending school - tomorrow. I lay on the bed Miriam pulled out from the sofa, my clothing all laid out - dark pants and a long-sleeved blue, black, and white shirt - and my backpack on the floor beside the bed, and I silently try to comfort myself in the dark.

_I must be able to make friends_, part of my mind argues. _I already have three. _

_But who's to say they're not just pretending, to be nice to Miriam? _Another part of my mind worries. I am torn between excitement and nerves.

_Hey, Asher, _my former self says in my head. _You've got lots of charm, and you're funny. You'll be awesome. You can make friends in the Community, surely you can here._

I smile, in spite of the situation, and try to channel the Asher who only wanted his _snack, _the Asher who never would worry about this, the Asher who hasn't seen war or guns. Why can't I just try to be _that _Asher for a few days?

_I didn't feel emotions, _I realize. We hadn't felt anything true, back in the Community. The Stirring Pills had ensured that lacking in our lives. Thing is, I like not having the lacking. I relish the sadness, nostalgia, nerves, happiness...and real friendship connection. I feel a severed connection to Jonas, one that can be recreated, if we can just meet again.

Thinking of the day that will start in but a few hours, I drift off to sleep. Drowned in the strange world of my subconscious, I dream a dream.

Jonas, Fiona, Lily, and a few faceless strangers are playing Bang, and I am hidden nearby in a bush I remember using as a barrier so many times. Lily is shooting up a storm, causing various strangers to sink to the ground, giggling and shouting, "Augh! You've got me!"

Lily prances over to Jonas and Fiona. "Got them!" She laughs. "Got them all!"

Jonas grins. "Great!" He hands her a real gun, the one in the Memory. "Just one more, now."

Lily squeals in delight. "The arrogant, obnoxious one! I was hoping I'd get your permission to finish that one!"

She approaches me with a maniacal grin and a raised gun. I wake, tears dampening my ever-smiling face, in a fear and heartbreak that did not leave me in my dreams.


	11. First Days

Lily's POV

I wake up to the sound of Miriam call through the house, "Wake up! Wake up! Let's get ready!"

I sluggishly crawl out of bed and approach a closet full of clothes Miriam and I had gone out to buy a few weeks ago. All the colors and styles are just so...different. The variety is making me dizzy, and I already can hardly stand from being so tired. I was laying with my eyes open until the late hours of the night, so worried about today.

I flop onto my bed and wait until I can think straight. _I can ask Miriam for help with my clothes, _I realize. I peel myself off of my mattress. I can simply go to Miriam for assistance.

I descend downstairs to the kitchen, where Joseph and Miriam are making breakfast. I smile sleepily at them both, too tired to bid them a verbal "good morning". Suddenly, a flurry of overhead rushed footsteps end in the arrival of Asher with a panicked look on his face. Noticing his half-clothed outfit of pants and no shirt, I remember that I'm wearing what Miriam called a nightgown, like a tunic slightly longer than the ones we had, but no pants underneath. Looking down at my bare legs, I back toward the wall behind me. Asher looks around the room and, noticing me, his eyes widen, looking scared. At first I think he is surprised by my clothing, but I realize he's looking at my face, as if I did something to him since he went to sleep last night.

Why is he scared of me? Did I do something wrong? I try to shake off the feeling. "Miriam, I don't know what to wear. The colors are hard to figure out."

Asher steps forward. "I...uhm...I need help too."

Three hours later, I am clad in a pink shirt and a black article of clothing that Miriam taught me is called a skirt. Asher stands beside me, dressed in black pants and a blue shirt. We gaze at the big doors, which are similar to the doors in the Community.

"Ready?" Asher asks nervously.

I grab his hand. "Ready."

Asher's POV

Lily and I are told that Lily is in third grade, and I am in seventh grade. It is explained by the people working in a room called Administration that we will only have the non-religious classes unless we choose otherwise in the future, as we don't exactly have a religion - a religion, we were told, is a belief. This belief by which this school is based, called Judaism, is the reason that my friends wore the circles on their heads.

After receiving my schedule, I see that my first class is science in Room 212. Cautiously, I open the door to the lab and glance around. Before me sits a class of nine or so children, six Females and three Males. I smile awkwardly at the strangers.

"Hey, Asher!" A familiar voice calls out. Meir, the owner of the voice, waves frantically at me. I grin widely at him and take the empty seat beside him in the back row. There are lots of empty seats around the room, about as many occupied as there are vacant.

"Class," the teacher, a short, light-haired Female adult says, pointing to me from the front of the room. "This is Asher. He's from a Sameness Community,"

I cringe, knowing that the children will soon ambush me with questions.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you not want me to say that so outwardly?" She asks. "I'm sorry about that. I'm Mrs. Hallbury. Class!" She claps her hands, silencing the children, whose volume had risen as she had been apologizing to me. I struggle to fight the urge to say "I accept your apology".

"Hey, Asher, how's school going?" Meir asks. Levi, Meir, Haim and I had spent many days together since first meeting.

I laugh. "Meir, it's only the first class!"

He smiles. "Right. I always forget. School just goes by so slowly. I hate it, I just want to be outside, running around, no rules, you know?"

I like Levi and Haim, but I think Meir's my favorite.

"Now,"

After an uneventful science class, we have two minutes between classes. Meir takes that time to introduce as many students as he can at rapid speed.

"This is Tuvia, this is Atalia, this is Levi - whoops, you know him - this is Esther..." He points to the students crowding around the new classmate - me.

Bold person that I am, I give them all a goofy grin and wave, then I turn to Meir with my schedule as the crowd gradually scatters. "Hey, what class do you have now?"

"Math," Meir says. "How about you?"

"Same!" I laugh, and we rush off to class together.

By lunch, two classes after math, I feel less uncomfortable. I have no problem with names, besides the three Davids, and the hallway is rather small, so I have no trouble finding classes. The only barrier now between getting the hang of the non-Sameness schools and me is lunch.

The lowest grade, first grade, until the grade above mine, eighth, has lunch together. This makes me smile, as Lily fits in that vast age category. Meir, Levi, Haim and I walk together to lunch, which I recognize as something we had in the Community - grilled cheese. However, this grilled cheese has a smell that fills the room and makes me want to cover my nose and run away.

I stand with my tray of rather disturbing food and search for a place to sit. A small, bony shoulder bumps my bicep. "Sorry," the shoulder's owner says. I recognize that voice and turn to face it with a smile.

"Lily! How's school!" I ask her, until I see her eyes not looking the way they usually do, rather the way they had looked after the war Memory. "What's wrong?" I bend my knees a bit to meet her height.

"N-Nobody's talking to me, unless it's to say my clothes are odd, or the way I speak is queer, or my face is strange...nothing's going well at all!" She gasps back sobs. "Will it get better?"

I hug my best friend, comforting her, despite all I have been taught in my previous thirteen years of life about physical contact. "Here," I guide Lily to a nearby table. "Let's sit together."


	12. Go The Distance

Lily's POV

Because we only are having half of the dual-curriculum, Asher and I wait outside for Miriam after lunch. She had walked us to school in the morning, but when she comes, she is inside a small gray building that moves on wheels, like a bicycle, but there are four wheels. She rolls down the window and beckons us closer with her finger. I approach gingerly as she presses a button on the ceiling of the vehicle that creates an opening in the side.

"Climb on in!" She grins at Asher and me. "Did they not have this in your Community? It's okay, come on!"

I give her a questioning look. "What's this?" Asher asks, pointing to the small building.

"It's a car," she explains. "Didn't you notice them on the road going to school?"

Asher and I exchange glances. Neither of us had noticed anything, as we were too busy worrying. Asher, of course, being the bold, social person he's always been, had no trouble finding his way in school. However, I've always been timid, more a thinker than a speaker, and had an unsatisfactory day.

Today, and today alone, I was told that I have an ugly face, strange clothing, and a weird way of speaking. I dread what I will "learn" from my classmates tomorrow. Why can't I just fit in? When I had escaped the Community with Asher, a part of me had hoped I'd have real friends here. I had decided that I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong. Is this truly where I'm meant to be? I will find my way, I will be strong. I can go the distance.

Asher's POV

Lying in the darkness, I can feel the thick emptiness of being awake when everyone else slumbers. I have attempted to sleep, as Miriam, Joseph, and Lily have succeeded in doing tonight, but my mind is too busy to shut down for the night.

School, to me, seems exciting so far. Socially, I mean. I don't expect the education to come much easier than knowing the name of the subject. Learning never was my strong suit, not even in the Community, where everyone and everything is made the same, thanks to Sameness technology.

Anyway, it's really starting to work out for me. I have friends and I am familiar with the ideas of most of the subjects - the concept of History is troublesome for me, as we didn't have this in the Community. I am not even nervous about when I begin doing actual learning - or failing to learn - as I know that Miriam will help me, or maybe one of my friends in school can help.

Lily's first school day, making my overall judgement of the day conflicted - was a torture chamber, it seems. Why didn't anyone care to help her, or just be nice to her in a small way?

I remember the look in her eyes when she broke the news to me that her friends - what were their names? Beatrice and...Irene? No, Iris, I think - drowned themselves. She looked as though...as though she had few other friends, just as the two children had had few companions in their lives.

How could nobody ever even want to befriend Lily? She's funny, kind, clever, determined, brave, friendly...she's everything - to me, at least. And she's forgiving enough in her heart to not even once show hatred toward Jonas for exposing her to the memories and driving her from her - our - home, whose fate we may never discover. Not to mention, willing to befriend and trust in a clumsy, easily distracted Male like me.

"You've got a friend in me, Lily," I whisper in the blank, silent darkness, hoping the words can reach her dreaming mind through the empty, infinite black canvas of night. "You've got a friend in me."


	13. Been A Long Day

Lily's POV

"If you need anything - anything at all, Lily - find me," Asher looks at me with concerned eyes as we walk into the school building. "Do you want me to walk to class with you?"

A part of me wants to be independent and say no, but the rest of me disagrees. "Sure, Ash."

We walk down the hallway of Third through Sixth grade. "I can always show these kids what they're messing with," Asher says, not quite sounding like himself, sounding rather angry.

"No, Asher, I'll see how things go for a few days," I give a sly grin. "But, if things still aren't going well soon...go ahead."

He laughs, a sound I have always loved hearing. We continue our way to my classroom, and I try to ignore the giggles I hear. Why is everyone laughing at me? I glance to the left and right to discover they are all girls a few grades older than me, probably in Sixth grade, and they are instead gaping at Asher with big smiles. "Hi!" A dark-haired girl, flanked by two others, one red-haired, the other blond-haired, hops up to Asher. "Are you new? In Sixth grade, perhaps?"

I feel an odd, burning fury that I am not used to begin to bubble inside of my stomach. "No," I say, sounding more rude than I had intended. "He's older than you." The girl rolls her eyes and looks at her two friends. "So, what's your name?" She asks Asher.

"Asher," He smiles. "And yours?"

The dark-haired girl flips her shoulder-length hair back. "I'm Mila. The ginger one is Hani, and the blondie is Jocelyn. Asher," She says it strangely, like Ahhh-shehr. I think the administration might have said his name the same way, the strange pronunciation. Maybe this is just the way some people pronounce his name. "Asher, cute name. So, how about sitting with us at lunch? You're new, right? You need someone to sit with."

I cringe. "Sorry, but I'm going to sit with my best friends - Haim, Levi, Meir," Asher puts an arm protectively on my shoulder. "And Lily."

"Oh, really?" Mila's eyes narrow at me.

"You can sit with us if you want," He suggests. He thinks they want to be friends, but they don't seem to want friendship. Are all boys to oblivious to such things as the actions of these three girls?

_Please say no, please say no..._I hope in my head. "Uh, sorry, thanks, but no thanks," Mila turns away, followed by Jocelyn and Hani.

In my first class, Math, I enter and immediately attempt to score a seat in the back, but the chairs are taken by five girls, all of whom had tortured me yesterday. I sigh and sit in the front. The five girls giggle.

"Sorry, Charlie!" One of the girls laughs, a girl named Zilpah with a wide stomach, who had enjoyed my first day of school the most of anyone yesterday.

"Too slow!" Another, Bilha, twirls her blond pigtails as she mocks me.

It's going to be a long day.

Asher's POV

At lunch, I sit with my four best friends. "Hey, Ash, are you playing basketball? Tryouts next week!" Haim asks excitedly.

I tilt my head. "What's basketball?"

"W-What's b-basketball?" Levi repeats, aghast.

"Dude, it's the best thing you might ever do!" Meir slaps my back.

"W-We gotta sh-show you!" Levi cries out.

"Later today? After school?" Haim suggests. "My house. I have the best hoop in my driveway."

"Lily, I have a sister around your age, too!" Meir turns to Lily. "She's eight. You're nine, right? Well, you can play with her! You'd like her - definitely."

She smiles appreciatively, which I suppose means yes.

"Oh, look, it's Ash," A taunting voice says behind me. "Where's Pikachu?"

I turn to see a big, squishy round face framed by dark hair grinning a sick smile at me, leaving me to wonder what a Pikachu is, but I think he insulted me. "Get away, uh..."

"-Avi," Meir stands up. "Get away, Avi."

"Y-Yeah," Bashful Levi agrees, turning red in the face.

The enormous boy, Avi, approaches Levi. "Make me, Little Levi. Make me." Levi timidly steps closer and brings his knee into Avi's rotund stomach. Avi doubles over, gasps, gives me a final shove, and hobbles away, clutching his abdomen.

It's going to be a long day.


	14. Three Blocks Right

**Sorry about how short this is and, if necessary, I'm sorry about the quality. I'm fasting right now and I just have very little energy.**

Lily's POV

"Is it four o'clock yet?" I ask.

"Not yet," Asher squints at the clock on the kitchen wall. "It's 3:47."

I moan, lay down on the couch, and wait for Asher's friends to be let out of school.

When the rest of the school lets out, four hours after Asher and I are home, Asher yells out, "It's four o'clock!"

I smile, pull on my pink and grey shoes, and begin running toward the door. At four o'clock, we are supposed to go to Haim's house. I don't know where it is - only that he lives on the same street - but Asher has been there before, so he is my guide.

As we pass the house beside the Shmirtzer home, I feel a mountain of nervous thoughts establish and grow in my mind. Meir's sister is younger than me, and I have never met anyone younger than me in school. She could be my first friend, or another girl who makes my life miserable. And, if she's mean, then that not only complicates my social life, but _Asher's!_ If she's not nice, Meir and Asher might get mad at each other, and stop being friends!

_Okay, Lily, everything's riding on this. For you, and for Asher._

Asher's POV

Haim lives on the other end of the street, three blocks to the right of the Shmirtzer house, if you're facing the front yard from the doorway. At the seventh house down, doubts begin swimming through my head. What if Meir's sister is horrible to Lily? Lily's really in a tough spot socially, so I don't think she could bear being set up to meet another tormenting child. And, I apologize for being selfish here, what about my friendship with Meir?

He might blame Lily, but I _know _if anything happened, it would be his sister's fault. We'd fight, hate each other forever, Haim and Levi would take his side, since they've been friends longer. Yeah, I know how this can play out - either awesome for both Lily and me, or our complete downfalls.

When we reach Haim Levine's house, the white one with dark green shutters and an overgrown front lawn, I glance over at Lily. Lily looks a bit pale, but I think she can manage a few more steps to the front door.

I lift my hand to knock, then I glance at Lily. "Good luck," I whisper.

She nods, and I tap my fist firmly on the door three times. A woman who looks to be a bit younger than Miriam, with her hair wrapped in a pale blue scarf, answers the door, as she had the other times that I have come over. "_Shalom, _Mrs. Levine," I smile at her. Shalom means "hello" in Hebrew, as she had taught me the first time I came over.

"Shalom, Asher," She smiles at me. "The boys are in the backyard."

She leads me through the house, lined with pictures of her five children and her family's relatives, and opens up the back door, which leads to a large area of grass. Beside the area, called a backyard, is the back of the long driveway. My friends are throwing a big orange ball in a basket without a bottom, which hangs on a pole. A very short girl with reddish-blond hair dressed in a long blue skirt to her ankles and a pink shirt, likely Meir's sister, stands nearby.

"Oh, hey!" Meir calls to us. "Ashira, this is Lily!" He beckons the girl, Ashira, over to us. "Now, say hello, Ashira!" He looks at us. "Ashira's very shy, sorry about her."

"Hi, Lily," She murmurs quietly, smiling a little. "Would you like to play in the backyard with me?" She asks. Lily grins and follows her to the grass, out of our sight.

"Well," Haim smiles. "Let's show this guy how to shoot hoops."


	15. Nostalgia

**Sorry about taking so long to update, I have a horrible case of Writer's Block. That explains why this chapter is definitely below my standards.**

Lily's POV

When we get to the backyard, Ashira immediately catches me off-guard. "What was Sameness like?"

I smile, remembering a few seconds ago when she was too shy to say anything. But, when I think back to answer her question, my smile melts. "I...I remember, we did not have very many things that are here. We didn't have things like color, toys..." I look down at the grass, embarrassed. "That's all I remember."

Ashira's eyes widen. "Really? That's all?"

"Yes," I can hardly manage a whisper. Where had my nine years of life gone?

"Was there anything else?" Ashira asks. I am about to speak when she keeps going, verbally forcing my mouth shut. "Just think really, really hard. What did you do in school?"

I smile sadly. "Learning, of course! Just what we do now!"

She continues. "What about in winter-time? Did you have holidays?"

I think hard about what winter-time is, relieving and embarrassing at the same time. Miriam told me it's a time in the year stretching from December to March. I feel as though something was very significant about that time, but I can't quite remember. "I...I don't know, Ashira. Maybe Asher knows?"

She rubs the toe of her shoe in the ground. "Maybe I'll ask my big brother, Meir, to find out if Asher knows."

I sit down in the grass. Why can't I remember my own home? No, I remind myself. Hertzeliya is my home.

Longing to keep this question out of my head, I search for a conversation. "Meir said the spring season of basketball is beginning soon. Did you ever play basketball? Is it fun?"

She makes a face. "No, basketball is more a Meir thing. It sounds confusing, anyway..."

Asher's POV

"All right, Ash, let's do this," Haim walks around the area beneath the hoop, rolling the orange ball in his hands. "Think fast!" He suddenly screams, thrusting the ball toward me, about ten feet away.

Unfortunately, I can't think fast enough, and I am hit in the chest by the orange sphere. The wind is practically knocked out of me by the innocent-looking object rolling around.

"Okay...I suppose we need to work on that," Meir lifts the aimlessly bouncing ball, wedges it between his arm and hip, then removes the ball from it's location and proceeds to bounce it between his legs.

"It's d-dribbling a b-ball, what Meir's doing," Levi teaches me, speaking very slowly, but I try not to look puzzled. "I'm t-trying to stop my stutter b-by speaking s-slower," he explains.

"Doing better," I reply sincerely.

"Anyway," Meir rolls his eyes. "Sorry, but we need to get back to business - "

"To defeat the Huns..." Haim murmurs. "Sorry, continue."

"So, basically," Meir begins again. "You have to keep dribbling to run. If you stop, you can't restart. You have to pass it-" He throws the ball to Levi. "-Or shoot it." Levi tosses the ball into the hoop.

"That's basically the first concept you need to know," Haim says. "Oh, and only pass it to your teammates!"

"One time, one time I pass to a kid on the other team, and I never get to forget..." Levi mutters, a small grin growing on his face despite being reminded of what appears to be an embarrassing moment for him.

"I think I might be able to do this. Back before I came here, my job was..." I think for a moment. What was it again? "Something fun. I can't really remember it, but it was fun." I can't remember. I. Can't. Remember.

I mentally attempt to dissect my memories and find my own past, but various parts are missing. I remember Jonas and Fiona, playing games, school...but not the Community. I remember I left because of something bad, because I still get these weird nightmares, disturbingly vivid, about being in a bloody battle. Was I there? I remember being there, but it doesn't feel so vivid that I was the me that had been there.

Confused, nostalgic-but-not-homesick tears well up in my eyes, but I can't let my friends see me cry. "Let's..." I gulp. "Let's try playing basketball, and I can see if I want to try out for the team."


	16. Other Than Now

**First off, I'm so, so, so, so, so, so sorry that I've been taking forever to update lately! I've been extremely busy, and I've also been suffering a bad case of Writer's Block(should be another month or so before I'm back to normal writing quality. I accidentally started a bunch of different writing projects around the same time, so once I've got that all sorted out, it'll be fine.)**

Lily's POV

"So, what do you want to play?" Ashira asks. We haven't exactly been doing much, but I don't know what people here do for fun.

Hoping to test out what I've learned so far, I name the first pastime I think of. "Do you have...Barbies?"

She makes a face. "Barbies? Aren't you a bit old for Barbies?"

I turn red. "I don't know any other game," I confess. She laughs. Not ridiculing me, but...laughing. Her laughs make me laugh and, within seconds, we are both giggling on the ground.

"What's...so...funny?" I gasp between bursts of chuckles,

"I dunno!" She replies. I don't bother to correct her slurred speaking.

Suddenly, I stop laughing. laying here on the ground, I can see the clouds. I know what they are, since Miriam showed me the fluffy-looking puffs of vapor in the sky, but I've never just looked straight up and watched them morphing slowly into different, strange shapes. I don't want to look away and miss a moment of their movement.

Ashira is also laying on the grass, her head perpendicular to mine. She points at one. "Look! It looks like an elephant blowing fire from his trunk!"

I look over to the cloud. "No," I disagree. "It looks like a cat. And that one there - It looks like a

rabbit!"

"Yeah!"

"Is this something people do for fun often?" I ask.

"Not always," She explains. "But people do, and it's fun!"

Why did I never do this before? I think. My smile fades. Or did I?

Asher's POV

We've just left Haim's house. I learned several things there: one, I completely suck at basketball. My friends told me not to sweat it, since I have probably never played basketball, but I feel like I should be more athletic.

Two, I learned why I haven't exactly had any language barriers, which I've been sort of curious about, but not enough to trouble my head with the question - as it turns out, Hebrew is a second language to the kids in my school, Avraham Peplum Torah Academy. APTA is literally made for kids who speak English, who need to learn Hebrew. Nobody really told me anything about APTA, they just told me it was a school, so I never knew that until I asked Levi today.

Three, something's wrong with my head. I mean, my head's fine, but my past is missing. I had a past, I can remember little bits of previous life, but some things are just...gone. I don't know where, I don't know if they'll be back, but they're gone for now.

Lily and I trudge home in an uncomfortable silence. "Hey, Lily?" I ask, breaking the quiet. "Do you remember what everything was like before?"

"Before what?" She whispers.

"Why'd we come here?" I rephrase my question in a clearer way, as I'm not even sure how to say what I mean.

"Don't you like it?" Lily asks. "I mean, now even I have a friend - Ashira's nice. And you have three friends! Why don't you like Hertzeliya?"

"No, no, no!" I say quickly. "I love it here! I mean, do you remember why we came in the first place?"

She stops walking. "I...I don't know." Lily bursts into tears. I'm horrible at being around sad people. I feel like sad people were why I left my old home. Awkwardly, I wrap my arms around her. "It'll...It'll be okay," I mutter. "We'll remember soon."

At home, Joseph and Miriam attempt to cheer us both up. "Lily, Honey, I can show you some music, if you want!" Miriam offered hopefully.

"Asher, we can play outside with a football, if sports are really bugging you," Joseph suggested. But both of these reminded us of the fact that music and sports aren't something we know, something likely missing from the Community. The Community, that's where we lived. I had friends named...named...well, I'm sure they had names. Why can't I remember their names? One was a boy, the other a girl. That's all I remember.

"I...I think we're just a bit tired," I finally answer on behalf of us both.

"We'll both just go to our rooms now," Lily pipes up sadly, and we both climb up the stairs, silently combing our brains for something, anything, that isn't now.


	17. All Gone

**Okay, I'm probably going to be updating more now. I didn't have time lately because of holidays and everything, but now I'm really excited to do the next chapter, so I'll update more. I promise, though, that I won't abandon this.**

Lily's POV

I wake up early, still in darkness, shivering uncontrollably from a nightmare that I was in a war. I don't know where those vivid images came from - I'm only nine, and we don't learn such things in History class. And...I felt that pain of death. Silly Lily, I think, cracking a smile that nobody can see. You're still alive. Nothing bad ever happened to you - ever! I flop back onto the pillow of my bed, and I'm out like a light for the next hour.

I wake again to the sound of Asher, my brother, running into my room. "Lily, Miriam sent me to wake you up. She's making us waffles for breakfast, so get ready for school."

I laugh. "Why'd you call Mother by her first name? You may be the older one, but she's still your mother!"

He looks at me, puzzled. "I'm not doing anything weird!" I shout at him, irritated by this look. "Stooooop!" I groan.

His eyes widen. "You...You've completely forgotten, haven't you?"

Asher must be trying to play a trick on me. "I'm not gullible, Ash. Stop it."

"N-No, Lily," He steps closer to me. "We came from somewhere."

Oh, no. Not the Talk. I wouldn't know what it is, but I've heard girls in my class talking about it. "I don't need to hear this from my brother!"

"Lil," He looks at me, eyes almost in tears. "We came from somewhere, not here. I don't remember it much, either, but we aren't related, and we came from somewhere."

I throw back the covers and kick Asher in the stomach as hard as I can. "You should be proud we're siblings, you know that? Mom's going to be so angry that you're being mean!"

Doubled over, he grunts, "Uh...okay." He walks out of my bedroom and, once in the hallway, keels over onto the floor and sobs into the white carpet.

I gingerly approach him. "Ash, I didn't mean to hurt y-"

"No," He looks up at me. "You didn't. I know." He hugs me, a weird gesture from my older brother, even if we are as close as best friends. "And it keeps you from being hurt. By me, in the same way."

Confused, I back away from the heap of emotional big brother on the ground and shut the door to get dressed for school. About ten minutes later, clad in a black skirt and a pink and white striped blouse, I follow the smell of waffles into the kitchen and plop myself onto my chair at the table.

"Mom!" I tattle. "Ash was being annoying this morning!"

At first, Mom doesn't even turn around. Neither does Daddy. Suddenly, Mom notices, and looks over at me. "Lily, Honey," She rushes over. "Are you okay?"

"What? No, he didn't hurt me or anything," I assure her.

"Not what I meant," Her eyebrows knit together. "Are you feeling alright?"

"We're forgetting everything," Ash mutters, whatever he means by that. "She's forgotten it all."

I tear up. "You're both playing a joke on me? Daddy, make them stop!"

Daddy, who had been paying attention to this mean prank, looks worried. "Lily, I...Miriam?"

Mommy looks at him, then at Asher. "N-Nothing, never mind. I'm sorry we were playing a joke. Let's get in the car," She laughs, but it seems weird, forced.

Asher's POV

She's gone. She's right here, next to me as we enter the building for another school day. She's breathing, but the world has lost half of the Lily I've always had. Miriam seems to feel that we should play along, just for now, but it's so hard to see her and know that, to her, I'm her brother. I think I like her as more than a sister, more than the friends we've always been. A crush, the term I've heard commonly used. She's amazing, a fighter. Whatever bad thing it was that brought us here, she survived it.

As we part ways, toward our separate hallways, I can't help glancing back. Is the fighter still there? Or is she gone with the memories?

In fourth period, History class, I take my seat between Haim and Meir, and behind Levi. The teacher, a middle-aged man named Mr. Richter, stands before the class. He glares at us all, firm and calm, getting us to shut up with his eyes, then smiles with satisfaction when everyone's attention is on him. "Well, next Sunday - not this one, but the next - we will be taking the annual eighth grade three-day trip-" He pauses. "-to Crete to learn about ancient Greece. Get your permission slips-" He holds up a stack of papers, and proceeds to hand a small pile to the student at the front of each row of desks. "-signed by Wednesday. In the packet attached to the slips is more information. Don't pack too heavily - it's just three days."

Immediately, the room erupts in chatter like lava from a volcano. "QUIET!" Cries Mr. Richter. We all try to hold in our excitement as much as we can. Mr. Richter continues speaking with all eyes on him. "Now, anyway, we have a quiz on Greek Philosophers on Thursday."

The class explodes again, this time in protest. "Quiet!" He shrieks again.

"Make it Friday!" Shouts Meir, being a more extroverted student.

Mr. Richter sighs. "Fine, this Friday."

Forty-five minutes later, the bell rings, freeing us from a monotonous voice droning to a half-asleep group of teenagers about boring subjects. We all shove through the hallway, pushing elbows and shoulders, racing the world to reach the cafeteria first.

Situated at our usual table, Levi, Haim, Meir and I chatter about various things. Seeing Lily and her class file in, I remember the events of the morning.

"-W-What do y-you think, Ash?" Levi asks.

"Oh..." I realize I'd been spaced out completely. "I wasn't paying attention," I confess.

"I-I asked if you think you're going to try out f-for basketball-" He says.

"Guys," I interrupt him. "Lily completely forgot about where we used to live."

Haim gasps. "Do you still remember it?"

"Kind of..." My voice trails off, and I'm silent for a moment. I feel something in my head change, something unidentifiable. "Hold on, remember what?"

"Where you're from," Haim prompts.

I raise an eyebrow. "Hetzeliya? Yeah, it's where we are." What are they talking about?

"No!" Meir grips my wrist. "Dude, quit messing with us."

"I'm not doing anything this time!" I tear my arm from his hand. "Guys, should I invite Lily to sit with us again? She doesn't really have many friends but, I mean, she's my sister."

Meir looks at me. "She's not your sister." I look at him curiously, wondering what he's about to say, the punch line of some joke. None comes within ten seconds of silence, however.

"Whatever," I say, too confused to continue. "Let's finish eating and I can watch you guys play basketball. I kind of suck at it."

The guys exchange weird, worried glances, but I pretend not to notice through mouthfuls of lasagna.


	18. Apples

**Okay, I know this one's not too great, since it's a full chapter of memory loss. But don't worry, things get interesting soon!**

Lily's POV

I hungrily enter the kitchen on Saturday night at around six o'clock, where I meet Asher and my parents. They must've also been hungry, since we had lunch at one o'clock, five hours ago.

"'Mornin', Lily," Asher mumbles. He is eating a bowl of Rice Krispies, absolutely scarfing them down. Milk dribbles down his chin, and he isn't bothering to eat with his mouth shut.

"Ash!" I groan. "Eat slower! That just looks disgusting!"

He rolls his eyes. "Lily, I'm hungry!" But he begins eating slower, reducing the grossness. "Hey, guess what I'm doing tomorrow?" He says to all of us.

"The trip to Crete?" Dad grins, reminiscent of some memory. "When I was a kid, we'd take a trip to Washington, D.C. at your age - it's in America, where I used to live. Of course, dinosaurs roamed the planet, back then," He jokes.

"Aw, c'mon, Dad!" Asher laughs. Mom and Dad look at each other, silent and concerned.

"Mommy," I ask. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, Lily," She replies. "What do you want for a snack?"

I think for a moment. "Cheerios. No milk, though."

Mom hands me a bowl of Cheerios and a spoon. I dive my spoon into the bowl, then consume the Cheerios I picked up.

"Asher," Mom says. "You'll need to go shopping tonight. I can't believe we didn't do this until now. Joseph, do you want to take him shopping, or should I?"

Dad shrugs. "Miriam, it's only three days. He's got a guy-sized wardrobe - which is basically enough for four or five days. I think shopping isn't all necessary."

Asher pipes up, "Yeah, I think I can probably manage. I'll go pack now, and see if I need anything." He stands up, and leaves to pack his suitcase for Crete.

Dad pushes back his chair and gets up. Mom glares warningly, desperately. "Joseph, don't..."

He stops her. "Miriam, I have to atleast try." He leaves Mom and me alone in the kitchen, where I gobble down my Cheerios, pretend to yawn, and walk out of the room.

I creep down the hall, stopping a few feet away from Asher's closed bedroom door.

"Asher," I hear Dad saying. "I need to tell you something."

"Alright, go ahead," Asher replies.

I hear Dad take a deep breath. "Listen, Ash, we're not actually related. We found you one day washed up on the beach, and wanted to help you. I don't know why you can't remember anymore, but we aren't blood relatives."

My eyebrows furrow, but then I try to hide a smirk. Dad's obviously just trying to trick Asher. There's no way that story's true. "Daaaad," Asher moans, clearly agreeing with me. "Quit messin' with me!"

Dad gasps. "Asher, I...I'm serious."

Asher laughs. "Sure, Dad, if you're serious, I'm Lily. Let's keep packing."

Asher's POV

"Asher," A whisper in the dark, rousing me from sleep. "It's morning. Time to wake up for your trip." It's Mom.

I moan, roll from my side to my back, and sit up. I glance at the glowing LED lights of the clock: four o'clock in the morning on Sunday, much too early for any teenager to want to be awake. The room is entirely dark, without sunlight or light from passing cars shining into my bedroom.

"I'm up," I groan quietly. "What time do we have to be at school again?" The school parking lot is where the bus the school rented, taking our class to the boat, which we also rented to bring us to Crete, is going to be.

"Five in the morning," She replies. "Get dressed, and I'll wake up everyone else."

I force my eyes to remain open, and I stand up shakily. I bend over and pick up my blue and black striped shirt from the floor, part of the outfit I laid out to wear today. When I've pulled that over my head, I sleepily put on the khaki pants I'd planned out for this journey to Crete. I zip up the khakis and shove my feet into my black Converse, then I lumber into the kitchen.

Mom is sitting at the table, her head resting, covered by her arms, beside her cup of coffee. Hearing my footsteps, she lifts her head. "Oh - Asher, I have apples, oatmeal, cereal - I'm too tired to make you pancakes or waffles, though - what do you want to eat?"

I think for a moment. "I want an apple and some oatmeal, please," I yawn, stretching my arms to the side, my mouth wide.

"Get an apple from the counter, and I'll make oatmeal," She says.

I pick one of the seven apples in the basket on the marble kitchen counter, and toss it up and down, left and right, one hand to the other, a one-man game of catch. I stop and look at the apple, red and shiny, with a stumpy brown stem peering out of the top like a little ponytail, then take a seat and bite into the apple, savoring the crunchy, sweet flesh of the fruit.

Suddenly, Lily shuffles in, wearing her nightgown and looking dead to the world. She flops into a chair across from me, and rests her head on her forearm. Mom pours a cup of orange juice and sets the cup beside Lily's wrist. Lily lifts her head and takes a drowsy gulp of juice.

"Ash, I think the oatmeal's ready," Mom says. She brings me the white cup of thick, chunky oatmeal, giving off constant bursts of steam. "It's a bit hot, though," She warns.

Dad enters, looking slightly less tired than the rest of us. He approaches the pantry, opting for a bowl of Life, complete with banana slices and milk. "Ash," He smiles. "Are you excited for the trip?"

I grin. "Of course!"

He glances at his shiny silver watch. "Well, it's four-twenty right now. I'd say we should get ready now."

At four-forty, our whole family and my suitcase is piled into the white mini-van. Lily sits beside me, curled up asleep with her head against the window, and Dad is driving. Mom and I lean our faces against the windows drowsily, neither asleep nor fully awake.

At the school parking lot, I already see several classmates of mine, including Levi. Funny, I think. It's ten minutes 'til five, and people are here. My bet was on ten after...

Dad lifts my suitcase out of the car to carry over and toss into the bottom compartment of the bus, but I take the bag from him. "It's light, Dad. I've got it," I explain, tugging the suitcase over to the bus.

When my luggage is on board, I approach my family again, and give both my parents a hug and a 'Bye, I love you'. I reach Lily, and I embrace the tiny nine-year-old. "Bye, Lily," I say. "See you in a few days. I'll miss you. I love you."


	19. We Got On A Bus

**This is the part where things start becoming more and more different from the actual books. I just want to clarify that, now, Enjoy!**

Lily's POV

I stumble into the house again, once we're home, and I'm asleep again before my head can hit the pillow. I dream that lots of girls my age are all sleeping over at my house. There's Ashira, lots of girls I recognise from my class, and a few others who look familiar, but I can't match a place to the faces. I dream peacefully until Mom yells, "Lily! Get up! I made grilled cheese!"

I wake with a start, and sigh. I'd been having such a great dream - I've never had a sleepover, for some reason. I've heard my classmates talking about slumber parties, though. Maybe someday I'll get to go to one.

I slide over to Mom, next to the stove. Dad left for work in his office, I guess, while I slept, but Mom teaches at the local preschool, so she's free on Sundays. She uses her spatula to flop a slightly burned sandwich onto a blue and white paper plate.

"Is that how you like it?" She asks.

I shrug and sit at the table. For some weird reason, I can't really remember how I like grilled cheese - almost like I've never even had it. Must've been a while, I think, puzzled. I can't even remember when I last ate grilled cheese.

I take a bite into the cheesy, warm sandwich, and I know that this is exactly how I like it.

Asher's POV

I board the bus, and I sit next to Meir, who arrives just in time for attendence. He's not quite as hyper as usual, leaning his head on his hand, his elbow braced upon the armrest of the blue charter bus seat, though nevertheless finding energy to babble, less enthusiastically than he would on a normal day, about his being excited to go on the class trip.

"I think we're rooming with the kids at the other school. I hope we don't get some freaks," Meir yawns. "I'm tired, can I just go to sleep for a bit?"

I smirk, since he was the one who was having trouble being quiet. "Be my guest, man."

He pulls out his blue backpack from underneath his feet, using it as a pillow. I can't help but wonder about the contents of the bag, that it's sufficient to use as a makeshift pillow. I lean my head against the window and close my eyes, the world and the few muttered conversations around me fading away.

An hour or so later, I wake from a dreamless sleep to the sound of Mr. Richter, who is chaperoning us with his wife. "We'll be ready to get on the boat in about five minutes, so get your things together."

I shake Meir, who must be a very heavy sleeper, and he slowly sits upright from his leaning slumber. "What the..."

I interrupt him, stopping what was probably going to be a swear. "Get up, Meir. We're getting on the boat soon."

He groans and stretches his arms outward, chest pushed outward by a large waking breath inhaled. "We'd better be able to sleep on that freaking boat."

The boat ride, once we've boarded the "freaking boat" and hauled our bags along with us, is actually relatively short to the bus ride, around a half hour's time. We file into the boat, a vessel hardly big enough for our class of twenty three and two chaperones, and we have, unfortunately, few seats, so Meir takes to resting his head on my shoulder sleepily, an awkward position. We both are leaning against the side of the boat when we arrive on land, greeted by a group of boys and girls my own age accompanied by a man with a red marking covering a large part of his face. He beckons the children to come closer to the exit of the boat, following her.

"Hello," He says with a warm smile that interrupts the crimson. "My name is Mentor. This is the class of thirteen and fourteen-year-olds who will be joining you and guiding you in your trip."

A boy with blond hair and blue eyes gently pushes through the little cluster of classmates, timid yet all hoping to befriend us, and stands in front, next to Mentor. The boy looks oddly familiar, but I can't match where I've seen him. Maybe just some random place, for a moment, I shrug, trying to dismiss the thought. But he really is familiar, so the curiosity pounds at my head. His eyes are wide, shocked, making me really confused. Why am I this significant in his memory? When my eyes meet his, he stiffens and looks intently at Mentor.

"-We'll be staying in the same rooms at the high school, to bond and make friends-" Mentor is saying, but Mrs. Richter walks over to him and cuts him off rudely with her loud, slightly accented voice.

"-Here are the rooming arrangements for the APTA kids: in Room 20, Levi, Haim, Meir, Eliyahu, and Asher. You'll be with Caleb, Jonas, Will, Eric, and Toby. For Room 21..." She continues with her speech, but I can't pay attention. Jonas. That name sounds...significant. I don't know why, but I feel like that blond boy is Jonas. Maybe, wherever I saw him, I might've heard him talking with someone who called him Jonas. Maybe he just looks like a Jonas to me, I don't know.

"-Try to mingle with the other school," She finishes, practically shouting the word "try", making me snap into reality.

Mr. Richter instructs us on what to do next with his booming voice. "Take your bags from the boat, and we can get to the hotel with a charter bus we've rented."

We decipher the pile we created of duffel bags and, tugging bags behind us and throwing them underneath the vehicle, we board yet another bus, now with the other class.

The boy, who I call Jonas in my head, though I don't know if I'm correct in this naming, sits alone in the back, behind Haim and me, who sit across the aisle from Levi and Meir. We don't talk much in the five minute interval between boarding the bus and arriving at the hotel, mostly just staring out the window as buildings drift back while we progress forward.

We enter the school and lug our bags, alongside the considerably smaller bags being pulled by the other school's students, into Room 20. The classroom is what seems to be an English classroom, posters of quotes and assignments for reading chapters posted on bulletin boards and around the room.

****A speaker, nearly hidden as it hangs on the wall beside a crowded shelf, erupts with the sound of Mr. Richter's deafening voice, magnified in volume. "LUNCH WILL BE IN FIVE MINUTES IN THE CAFETERIA. IT'S KOSHER, AND DON'T. BE. LATE!"


	20. Charlie the Bus Driver

**Okay, I just want to clarify, before I start getting reviews about this, that this isn't going to follow the last three books. Mentor is a character in the books that I'm including, but mostly it'll be different.**

Lily's POV

Mommy and I reach the parking lot to school in the minivan, without Asher this time. I'll admit, it feels pretty weird without my brother, but he'll be home soon. I hop out of the car, call out, "Bye, Mom!", slinging my pink backpack over my shoulder, and walk down the sidewalk to enter this prison of boredom called school.

I walk down the hall to my locker, number ninety-four, and shove my backpack into the little sliver of a cubby in the wall. I have to go through a lengthy, laborious process of inching my bag into my locker, since we don't get big ones until we're a bit older. Asher told me he has a big locker, the size of three of mine. In the hallway, I see Mila, Hani, and Jocelyn, those girls who had bothered Asher and me, walking down the hall, giggling. They stop and smirk at me when they're a few feet away.

"Where's that boy, Asher?" Mila sneers. "Did you scare him off?"

"He's..." I hesitate, mustering up more strength. "He's in Crete. On the eighth grade trip. Because...he's older than you." I put emphasis on the final phrase, as though telling them why they need to stop flirting with my brother.

"Because he's older than you," Hani mimics.

"Hon, he's too old for you too. Quit chasing after boys who are out of your league," Jocelyn rolls her eyes.

I nearly puke. "He's...my brother! Are you three really that dumb?" Harsh, I know, but they need to quit picking on me.

Hani looks confused. "Since when? He had his arm around you, and-"

Mila interrupts her, eyes lighting up. "Really?"

"He's available?" Jocelyn blurts, receiving angry glares from Hani and Mila.

I back away slowly from the growing tension, soon to become a whole fight over Asher. There's no way they have a chance with my brother, I realize with a grin. Ash is nice, funny, fun to be around, and they're...not.

Asher's POV

"WAKE UP, EVERYONE! BE IN THE CAFETERIA IN A HALF HOUR FOR BREAKFAST!" Mr. Richter's voice makes us all jump in our sleeping bags, wide awake.

Meir gropes around the floor for his cell phone, then groans when he sees the screen. "Guys, it's six - freaking - o'clock in the morning! I always figured we'd get to sleep in some when we go on the trip!"

We all laugh, even the kids from Crete, who we don't even know. That Jonas kid, who looks really familiar, keeps looking at me. He recognizes me too, I realize excitedly. Boldly, I approach the blond kid.

"Hey...Jonas?" I'm not sure that's his name - I just feel like that must be it.

He looks up, some weird, hopeful look in his eye. "Asher?"

He probably knows me from someplace, I just must be forgetting. Maybe, I don't know, we went to preschool together, and then we would know each other, we just don't remember each other. Yeah, that makes sense. I just need to confirm this.

"Jonas, you look so, so, so familiar. Where did I see you once?" I ask.

The look on his face melts. "Oh, I don't know. I don't think...I don't think I've seen you anywhere. I just...heard your friends call you that. Hey, can I sit with you guys at lunch?"

This kid seems outgoing, like we're best friends. That's cool to me. "Yeah, fine by me. Why aren't you with your friends? Oh," I realize how rude this sounds. "I didn't mean...you know..."

He chuckles. "Well, uh, I figured I'd hang out with some guys from your school, Ash - uh, Asher, I mean. You seem cool. What do you like to do?"

I think hard. "I just...I like to be with my friends. I'm working on getting better at basketball, but I'm all right at soccer. What about you?"

"I love soccer, but I'm a bit of a nerd. I love reading, and just having more knowledge. Are you a good swimmer?" He looks at me meaningfully. "I'm okay at swimming."

I grin. "I suck at swimming. I'm not...what's the word...buoyant enough, I guess."

His eyes widen a bit for some reason. Maybe he is surprised that I'm a horrible swimmer, since he probably thinks it's easy. Awkwardly, the ten of us, half strangers to the other half, get dressed for a long day. I wasted a lot of time talking to this Jonas kid, so I have about twenty minutes to get dressed. Twenty minutes is a pretty big chunk of time, I'll admit, since most kids will brush their teeth and stuff after breakfast. I guess those extra minutes are just for the girls who have to do, I don't know, makeup and stuff.

"Let's go!" Meir shouts, when we're all dressed - I'm wearing jeans and a blue collared shirt. He sees me talking to Jonas, and smiles. "Who's this?"

I am about to introduce Jonas, but he stops me. "I'm Jonas - Oh, Asher, I apologize for interrupting you."

"I accept your apology," I reply automatically. Where the heck did that come from?

He grins at me, then turns to my friends. "What are your names?"

"Meir," Meir says.

"L-Levi," Levi says, then lets out a short string of stuttered swears. "My stu-stutter's back."

"I'm Haim," Haim holds out his hand, which Jonas shakes. Formal, I think, confused.

Eliyahu, a timid, tall, rather chubby boy in my class approaches from his position in the corner. "Hi...can I sit with you guys?"

Haim agrees first, then the rest of us nod. Eliyahu's a nice kid, and he's funny when you can coax words out of him. "Sure, man, let's go get breakfast."

Our group of six strolls down the halls to enter the cafeteria. When we enter, several girls are already there, and what is probably most of the guys. They all crowd around a table laden with several bagel flavors and various boxes of cereal. No waffles, though those things are my favorite breakfast food, but I wasn't expecting waffles to be available, since we need to be outside and ready to go wherever we're going first - I lost my schedule last week - as fast as possible, and waffles take a while to make.

I grab the top half of a bagel sprinkled with sesame seeds, and I spread cream cheese over the soft white "flesh" that once was the inside of a complete bagel. I sit down on one of the eight blue benches at the white tables and wait for my friends to sit down. Jonas sits next to me, Meir on the other side, and Levi, Eliyahu, and Haim across from us. Jonas, Meir, and Haim opt for cereal, whereas Levi, Eliyahu, and I chow down on bagels.

"So," Haim speaks with his mouth full. "Jonah, is it?"

Jonas swallows before he answers. "Jonas, actually. And...Haim?" Haim nods, and Jonas gives a triumphant fist-pump.

Mrs. Richter hops onto a vacant area on a nearby table, trying to get us all quiet. Mentor approaches and opens his mouth, looking like he wants her off of the table, but he closes his mouth, thinking better of the decision to give instructions to the loudmouth of a woman. "Everyone, go back to the halls and finish getting ready, we need to be on the bus in..." She checks her watch. "Eight minutes. Go!"

We rise from the tables, my half-eaten bagel still in hand, though everyone else had already crammed theirs down their throats, and exit toward the classrooms. After brushing our teeth and digging through suitcases for wallets, phones, and granola bars - that one was Eliyahu - we board the charter bus again. We sit toward the back, I sit with Levi - he gets the window seat - Jonas sits across from me, with Haim at the window, and Meir and Eliyahu sit behind Haim and Jonas.

The bus driver, once we're all seated, "shushes" us furiously. Some of us jump, and we all fall silent. The driver is a fat, grouchy looking man whose hair - what little he has left - is nearly transparent silver. He glares at us over wire-rimmed glasses. "My name is Charlie, and I'll be your bus driver during this trip. Don't be too loud, don't make a mess, and do what your chaperones and I say." He sits down, starts up the bus, and we drive slowly down the road.


	21. Where Things Come Back

**I need to apologize - first for the present, then in advance. First, I'm sorry I haven't updated. I have had holidays lately and, in those holidays, I can't use electronics. I couldn't stop thinking about when I'd be able to update this, though, and I've been waiting for a while to write this important scene. Second, I'm going to be away for a month this summer, and that also means ****_no computer. _****So I won't be able to update anything for a month or so. Again, I'm so sorry, but...Enjoy the new chapter!**

Lily's POV

When History class ends, and Miss Philster has finally taken us down the hall in a silent, single file line to the lunchroom, I realize just how lost I am. Every day, I sit down with Asher, Haim, Levi, and Meir at lunch, but they're somewhere in Crete now, eating lunch somewhere without me, and I'm left to be alone without the four boys.

I take my lunch tray, with its two slabs of oddly suspicious pizza laid on top, and linger near the wall, wondering where I can sit. I locate a long, rectangular table with one side idle, and I begin to approach it.

"Lily!" A high voice rings out. I face the voice to see Ashira. "Come sit here!"

I walk toward the table, but I hesitate when I notice the two other girls giggling beside her. I'm not exactly the most social kid you'll ever meet, so two unfamiliar kids next to my only friend make me uneasy. Will they like me? I wonder. Will they think I'm weird? Most other kids probably wouldn't worry like this, since they're younger than I am, but I don't need another kid thinking I'm freaky.

I flop down across from Ashira, and she waves. The other two smile at me, which is probably a good sign. "These are two of my friends in my class, Maura and Anna." Ashira points to the respective girls at the introduction of their names. Maura has a very round face, with a short, curly brown bob hairstyle and big green eyes that catch the light like a mirror. Anna has her hair tightly pulled back into a high blond ponytail, and a grin that looks like she wants to hug everyone.

"Hi, Maura. Hi, Anna," I awkwardly give a tiny smile. "I'm Lily."

"What do you like to do?" Anna asks. "I like to draw and paint pictures."

"I like to read," I blurt, hoping I'm not deemed a nerd for this.

To my relief, Maura beams. "So do I! Do you like to make up stories?"

I take a bite of my pizza. "Of course!" And I do, probably. I like thinking about other ways to look at things, because the way people see things aren't always the way they want life to look. I like to change the way life looks from one angle, and see the world upside down. At least, I feel like I have that kind of head, for making stories and telling them to people. I feel like I have lots of upside down, right side up, diagonal, sideways, and any other way kinds of thoughts in my head, just out of reach of my memory, playing tag with my brain.

Ashira giggles. "You two have so much in common!"

We finish eating between lines of goofy conversation about school, funny stories, and pure nonsense, a typical lunch between four friends. Walking back to class, a vertebra in the whispering single file line of third graders that had snaked along the halls before lunch, I realize that I really do have three friends to play with now, and then I have Asher to always stay by my side when I need him.

Asher's POV

Following our first full day of the trip, we sit in the dark on the bus. Mr. Richter and Mentor have arranged an awkward, hardly satisfying dinner of cold pizza on the bus, which they hand out on small plates. Once they have distributed our meals, Charlie the Grumpy Bus Driver starts up the bus to bring us back to the school. Haim, Jonas, Levi, Meir and I, our little group in the back of the bus, peer at the greasy masses on paper plates.

"If P-Peter Parker got his power f-from a radioactive spider, and became Spider-Man" Levi mutters, lifting the flimsy slice of pizza. I take note mentally of the improvement in his stutter. "Then m-m-maybe, if I eat this p-pizza, since it's d-definitely radioactive, I'll become...Pizza Man!"

Meir and Haim laugh, Haim blushing after adding in an unintentional snort. Students several rows ahead of us turn back to our giggling crew and scowl for a moment, before returning to their conversations or pre-sleep nap. I, however, don't really see what's so funny about that joke. I glance over at Jonas, who is sitting next to me, to see that he is anxiously looking at me. Deciding that he's telepathically trying to ask me to explain the joke, I silently mouth over at him, "I have no idea."

Not enjoying being left out of something that must be absolutely hilarious, I sit up straight and grab everyone's attention. "Okay, guys, let's play...Truth or Dare."

At first, everyone just stares at me. Suddenly, a malicious grin spreads across Meir's face. "I'll start. Haim, truth... or... dare?" He draws out the overused question.

"Dare," Haim replies.

"I dare you to..." Meir stops for a moment, deep in thought. "I dare you to stay in the bathroom for two minutes. My stopwatch begins when the door closes."

Haim's jaw drops, looking toward the door in the back of the bus leading to a tiny, stinking bathroom. "Truth! Truth!" He cries frantically.

Meir mercilessly shakes his head. "You said dare. Get in that bathroom, and you can get it over with."

Groaning, Haim tugs open the door, steps in and, very slowly, he lets the door close. "Do I still ask a question from here? I was the one you asked, you know."

Meir nods, then realizes that his head is not in Haim's view, which is restricted to the dark walls of the bathroom. "Yeah, ask someone."

"Levi!" Haim's muffled voice says. "Truth or Dare?"

"T-Truth!" Levi announces quietly, not wanting to wake up any sleeping kids.

"Do you...Is it true that...Which girl in our class is the prettiest?" Haim asks.

Levi turns red. "Uh...I think Atalia is really pretty," He whispers. "Her bright r-r-red hair is just...g-gorgeous. And her sm-smile, and the way that she's really, r-really nice..."

I feel Jonas stiffen at the description. "What's wrong, Jonas?" I ask.

He just looks at me. "Red hair, kind...doesn't that sound a bit familiar?"

I scour my brain for some memory, but the only ones that come up are of Atalia and her six siblings, all redheads, and some ginger-haired girl. She looks to be around my age, and she looks extremely familiar. Unfortunately, I'm not sure why. I shake my head.

"Maybe she's just...a small detail to him," Jonas murmurs to himself. "No worries."

Before I can ask him what is so important, Levi taps my shoulder. "Truth or Dare?"

I grin. "Dare."

"I dare you to...I-I dunno, make up n-nicknames for everyone h-here," Levi shrugs.

I point to Levi. "Levz, I'll start with you. Wait - Levz is already a nickname!

"Well, Meir, you'll be...The Night-Meir. Like a nightmare. Mysterious-sounding, huh?

"Haim, Haim...I might need help with this nickname. Haim-er Time! It sounds like Hammer Time, get it?

"Now, uh, Jonas, you can be Jonas-Bonus!" I exclaim, finishing my dare. Jonas gasps, as though the nickname is hard for him to hear.

Concerned, I ask him, "Are you okay? I can choose a different one...JoJo?"

He gives me a sad smile. "Nothing, it's what Father...uh, never mind, I don't want to talk about it. The nickname's okay, though."

Breaking the awkward silence, Meir proclaims, "Two minutes have passed!"

Gasping, Haim leaps out of the bathroom. "Never...Again. Don't...ever...make...me do that...again." We laugh at Haim's red face as Charlie finally pulls the bus into the school parking lot.

After a long day of roaming around the two enormous, confusing museums, I'm excited to finally get off of the bus, shower in the school locker rooms, and lay down in my sleeping bag. I gaze up at the ceiling, almost invisible from the darkness that is only rivaled by several cell phones dimly glowing in the room, thinking about the day. We went to a natural history museum, then to a museum about the history of Crete. Nothing interested me much - well, I liked the dinosaurs in the natural history museum - because everything was mainly just words explaining pictures. Words take too much concentration for my head; my head is more the fun-loving kind of head.

I hear rustling approach me, then Jonas, who had been inching his sleeping bag over to me. "Ash...Ash...Are you awake?"

I laugh, given several angry "shush"-es around the room in response. "Of course I'm up, dude! What's up?"

His voice drops down a bit. "Do you...remember me?"

"I'll confess, you look pretty freaking familiar," I prop myself on my side with my elbow. "But I can't remember where I've seen you. And, when you said red-haired girl, some image came up in my head, and she's weirdly familiar, too!"

Jonas' throat makes a weird, almost-crying noise. "He doesn't know...He doesn't know..."

I try to comfort him. "Hey, man, I've got pretty sucky memory, don't beat yourself up for it. It's okay."

He looks at me. "No, Ash, it's not okay. Fiona, Mother, Father, Lily, and everyone else are...who knows what's happened to them, and you don't remember!"

My eyes widen. "You know Lily? My sister?"

He coughs. "Your sister? That's one crazy memory mix-up. Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah," I reply. "At home. In Hertzeliya."

"Lily's alive!" Jonas exclaims.

"Just like always, I guess," I don't get what's so crazy about that. "Why do you know her?"

"Never mind that," Jonas smiles briefly, then his eyebrows furrow again. "You really don't remember, huh?"

I shrug. "I can't remember whatever you keep talking about."

Jonas takes a deep breath. "Let me just try one...last...thing, before I go to sleep." He holds up his fingers like a gun. "Bang."

With those four letters, with that one word, everything floods back. The river, the Sameness, Fiona, the Memories, and my entire life. I remember Jonas, my best friend, the way he changed, and then the way he left. I remember Lily, who is not my sister, but Jonas'. Lily is my friend, and maybe, someday, something more. I remember the Community, where nobody and nothing was unique. I remember myself, at last, as the true Asher.

I collapse onto my sleeping bag, since my whole body grows too shaky to hold myself up on my arm. As my memories return, tears come to my eyes, as though I'm reliving every moment again. Soon, I'm fully sobbing, as quietly as possible, so I don't wake anyone. "Asher," I mutter my own name quietly through the tears of joy, then louder and louder, to a stage whisper. My own rendition of a Community custom. "Asher. Asher Asher."

Jonas smiles. "You remember?"

I nod. "I remember now."


	22. The Plan

**Okay, I'm not sure if this will be my last one before camp or not - probably, though. Anyway, sorry that I've been so busy, I'm not going to abandon this, though, until I finish writing. In a few weeks, I'll be back to writing for you awesome readers - and big things will happen soon! Sorry if you don't like how this chapter just sort of...ends, but it's not over yet! Anyway, enjoy!**

Lily's POV

"Lily! Maura! Anna! Come on!" Ashira calls back to us as she races toward the playground. Maura, Anna, and I follow her, running as fast as we can to trail her. Class has finally let out for the next fifteen minutes, releasing us to recess.

Finally, she stops beside the mouth of the bottom of the tube-slide. Grinning at us, she hops up onto the roof of the slide, sitting sideways as we catch up to her.

"What..." Maura pants. "What's...over here?"

Ashira shrugs. "I don't know. It just seemed like a fun place to hang out during Recess."

Anna groans, then looks around, and a dreamy little smile grows on her face. "This is a pretty cool-looking place, actually."

"So, what are we suppose to do here?" I ask. My recesses have always been spent running around with everyone else and playing four square.

Ashira looks a bit sheepish. "Just talk, really. We can go-"

I stop her. "Sounds cool."

Anna tilts her head to the side. "What do you guys want to talk about?"

"School?" I suggest, sitting down in the golden brown chips of mulch scattered heavily across the playground.

Maura nods, being the intellectual of our "clique", but Anna perks up, introducing another idea. "Boys?" She suggests eagerly, being the girliest of our group of four.

Ashira giggles. "Hey, I'm okay with that!"

Maura flops down in the mulch beside me, but Anna remains standing next to Ashira, who is still perched atop the slide._ Boys,_ I think, grabbing a handful of mulch. I sprinkle the little chips back down like rain a few inches in front of my face. _I don't really like any boys here._

Anna nudges Ashira's arm. "Hey, Ashira, who do you like?"

Ashira lifts an eyebrow jokingly. "Like, or like-like?"

Anna rolls her eyes. "Oh, you know what I mean!"

Ashira waves her hands inwardly, beckoning us closer. Our huddle tightens, and she whispers, "Darren."

Maura giggles, but I can't remember who Darren is. I ask, and she explains, "You must have seen him around. He has curly, big black hair, and he smiles a lot. He's not in your class, so I guess it makes sense that you don't know him."

Ashira grins sheepishly. "He's cute - and sweet, too!" She defends herself.

"Ah-greed!" Anna laughs.

Ashira gasps. "You like him, too?"

"No! No, no, no!" Anna cries. "I like...uh..."

"You started saying it! You have to tell us now!" Maura shrieks.

Anna glances around, desperate for a distraction. "Uh, well, who does Lily like?"

Just as I prepare to shout out 'Nobody', a realization strikes me. "Hey, it's Wednesday, right?"

Maura nods. "Yeah - but don't change the subject! Answer the question, Lily."

"Asher will be home today," I laugh excitedly. "When I'm home from school!"

Asher's POV

"So, you're telling me that you started forgetting things?" Jonas asks as everyone in our room attempt to untangle each other's phone chargers and decipher whose clothing is whose.

I nod. "You bet. The Community just became more and more vague, until - poof - " I make an exploding motion with my hands. "I thought Lily was my sister, and I didn't remember you." It feels strange, thinking of not remembering my own best friend, and Jonas seems a bit shaken as well, just hearing that our friendship, for a time, was nothing to me.

"I didn't forget, though," Jonas says, almost to himself, his eyes closed. "Could it be the light-hair, dark-hair thing? Mental capacity?"

I snort indignantly, and his eyes open. "Sorry, Ash, I'm trying to think of every possibility. Hey, do you think Lily remembers me?"

I shake my head. "She thinks I'm her brother."

Jonas starts coughing, eyes wide. "She...she doesn't remember me?"

"No, Jonas. I'm sorry," I reply awkwardly, unsure of how to properly respond.

He purses his lips. "I'm coming with you. To Lily."

"Jonas..." I shove my sleeping bag into its little carrying bag. "I don't think you can just join my school for a ride down to Hertzeliya."

"Listen," He grabs my arm. "I need Lily to remember me. You don't understand this."

I sigh. "This is a horrible idea, but...dumb plans are my specialty. I'll help you."

Jonas does a strange happy-dance on the spot. "Thanks, Ash! Now, how can we do this without Mr. Richter and Mentor seeing me?"

I shrug, then bend over to stuff my scattered clothing into my duffel bag. Being a guy, my duffel bag contents consist of four shirts, four pairs of pants, three pairs of underwear, three pairs of socks, and a pair of shoes - and I'm wearing one from each group of articles of clothing - so I have no trouble zipping my bag.

I have my bag halfway zipped, when Jonas stops me. "Wait!" He cries. "Would I fit in there?"

*Pagebreakpagebreakpagebreak*

Our two schools walk, jumbled, from the bus to the boat together, following packing and breakfast. Jonas and I slyly fall to the back of the group, even behind a girl hobbling along on crutches. When we are next to a large tree, we know to begin Phase One of our plan.

Jonas and I pull the bag behind the tree, and I unzip the mouth of the duffel. "Are you sure, Jonas?"

He nods. "Absolutely," He lies down in the bag like a corpse in a casket, waiting for me to zip him up. I slide the zipper, enclosing my best friend in with my dirty, sweaty clothes. Hey, he said he wanted to - don't blame me for this harebrained scheme.

Once Jonas is closed into the bag, I drag him out from behind the tree, and laboriously pull him to the ferry. When I reach the boat, everyone is beginning to board it. Mrs. Richter is livid. "Asher!" She shrieks, making both schools fall quiet, and my classmates stop walking. "Why were you taking so long?"

"I, well, had to go," I lie.

"Go where?" She demands.

"You know...go."

"Why didn't you..._go_...in the bus' bathroom?"

"I didn't have to go then!" I exclaim.

Mrs. Richter sighs. "Fine, go ahead, get on the boat."

I pull the bag, as gently as I can, for Jonas' sake, to the boat. While I walk, I murmur, just loud enough for Jonas to hear, "Phase Two - Complete."


	23. Double Take

**Sorry that it's been so long since last update! Anyway, good summers all around? Hope so!**

Lily's POV

The time is seven forty-five in the evening. At eight o'clock, the bus full of eighth graders should pull up in the school parking lot. In fifteen minutes, my brother and I will be reunited. Asher.

"Daddy!" I yell from the kitchen table. "Are you ready to go?"

"I'm almost ready!" Dad replies from his room.

"What's taking so long?" I ask. I've been waiting for ten minutes now - and the whole time, he just keeps saying "almost ready".

"Can't find my other shoe!" He calls back.

I groan, my patience decomposing more every moment. Mom, who is standing by the door, pulls on a light sweater. "Lily, do you want anything else to eat? We've got leftover pizza from yesterday."

I shake my head "no", my stomach already full of excitement. It's only been a few days, but I miss Asher.

"No?" Mom confirms, surprised. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," I tell her. She opens the refrigerator, takes out a thin slice of cheese pizza for herself, and bites into it. Her eyes close blissfully as she chews .

"Herschel's Pizza Shop," She says, once she's swallowed. "Nothing like it."

Finally, Dad shuffles into the kitchen. "I, uh, found my shoe," He announces sheepishly. "It was right next to the bedroom door."

"Well?" Mom asks. "Quit standing around! The bus is supposed to come in five minutes now!"

We pile into Mom's mini-van, and we begin making our way down the street, over to the school. "Mo-om!" I moan. "Why am I always in the back?"

From the driver's seat, my mom sighs. "When you're older, Lily, you can sit in the front."

"Humph." I lean my head on the window, looking at the houses slipping past us as we drive. I can't resist gazing at how quickly everything goes past us. Honestly, sometimes I act like these things are new to me.

Finally, Mom makes that familiar turn into the school parking lot. The brick building looks so strange, empty in the dark. Several other cars are already scattered throughout the parking lot, waiting for their children to come in on a bus.

"Mom," I whine. "How much longer until the bus comes?"

"It'll come soon," She answers. "Why?"

"I'm hungry."

She chuckles. "I told you! I knew you'd be starving, right after we left!"

An irritated chill runs down my spine. "Mom," I begin. "I'm not starving! That wouldn't be, what's the word, precise language!"

Dad grins. "Where'd you learn that?"

I think, long and hard. "I...I don't know."

Mom looks at him intensely, mouthing something. I make out a few words, here and there: 'she' and 'before', and then either 'cream' or 'came' - but my best bet is 'came'. I want to ask them what they're saying, because I know it's about me, but I'm distracted by a blue and white bus.

"Asher!" I shout, pointing at the bus. I open the door, jump out of the car, and run over to the sidewalk to wait for the bus' door to open. After a few moments, the first kid jumps out, running to meet her parents. The rest file out after her - some slowly, some quickly, some looking back to chatter with their friends standing behind them. Finally, I see the familiar smile that can only be Asher's. Once his foot touches the sidewalk, I run up to him, giving him the biggest hug I can give.

Asher laughs. "I wasn't gone that long, Lily-Billy."

I grin, "Missed you anyway! Let's get your bag!"

The smile on his face widens. "Yeah. Let's...let's get the bag." He walks over to the compartment under the bus, which their very fat bus driver has opened, and pulls on the handle of a black duffel bag. He drags the bag onto the sidewalk with an oddly cautious quality about him.

"What are you doing, Asher?" I giggle. "You're not going to hurt the bag!"

"Well, not the bag..." He mumbles.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Nothing, nothing," He points at the other side of the bag. "Can you carry it from that side to the car? It's sort of heavy."

I grab the fabric handle and lift. "Oof!" I grunt. "What, are you hiding a body in here or something? It's so heavy!"

Asher smirks, but I don't know why. "Just help me."

When we reach the car, I drop my side with a thud. Asher looks horrified. "No! Lily!"

I look at him. "It's just a bag. Here, let's get it in the car."

I pick up my side again, and we lift the bag into the trunk. When it's inside, Asher puts his hand on the side I dropped. After a moment, he looks relieved. I put my hand on it, and it just feels like a pair of shoes. I choose not to ask about that, because I'm not sure if there's a logical answer. Instead, we climb into the car - both of us in the back - and head home.

"Did you have enough food?" Mom asks.

Asher nods. "Yes, Miriam - I mean, Mom."

Mom and Dad look surprised. I am too - why did he call her by her real name? But their surprise is slightly mingled with hope.

"Good. I heard about that partner thing with another school. Did you make friends?" Mom asks.

Asher smiles. "Of course."

"Excellent. Sounds like you had a great time, Asher," Mom says as the car pulls into the garage. "Now, I want you to go to your room, and empty out your bag."

"Can Lily help me?" Asher asks.

"Me?!" I cry out indignantly.

"Yes. You," He says firmly. I roll my eyes, defeated.

When we get inside, Asher and Dad carry the bag upstairs, while I walk empty-handed, being so much younger.

In Asher's room, Dad and Asher set down the bag. "Well," Dad says, turning to the door. "If you two are hungry later, you can get food."

Once he's gone, Asher's smile is enormous. "Lily, let's get to work on this."

He bends over the bag and slowly begins unzipping it.

Asher's POV

"HEY!" Jonas cries, jumping out of the duffel bag. With a yell like that, he even made me jump. But Lily is absolutely terrified.

Shrieking, my friend - and best friend's sister - hides behind me. "Asher, who is that? Did you know he was there?"

The smile melts off of Jonas' face, seeing his own sister not know who he is. "Lily...I'm..." He remembers what retrieved my memory with a look of realization on his face. He makes his fingers like a gun. "Bang."

Lily stops for a moment, letting her life flood back to her. In that moment, I saw the happiest face I ever could see on that girl. "Jonas!" She ran up to Jonas, giving him a hug.

Jonas looks like he might cry from all the joy. "Lily," He whispers.

I smile. Reunited, at last.

Their hug breaks up. "How'd you get here?" Lily asks.

"By bus," Jokes Jonas.

Lily giggles. "You met him in Crete? Whoa!" She takes his hand. "Let's go introduce you to Miriam and Joseph! They've been taking care of us!"

We run downstairs, where my "parents" sit in the kitchen. The sight of Lily with a strange teenaged boy nearly gives them both a heart attack.

"Joseph, Miriam," I begin. "I didn't want to tell you this before surprising Lily, but I remember who I am. The Community part of me. Jonas here was - is - my best friend. I happened to see him again in Crete, and he made me remember the Community, and our childhood. He was in my duffel. I needed to bring him somehow. Because he is Lily's brother."

Miriam gasps, her hand on her heart. She approaches us, giving us a big hug. "This is amazing!" She exclaims. Joseph, ever the quieter half of the married couple, simply nods in agreement. Suddenly, Miriam's face turns stern. "Asher, you could have just arranged a visit. This could have been dangerous."

"But I needed them to meet again - fast!" I explain. "But, well, I guess it could've hurt Jonas."

Jonas laughs. "You bet! I'm just lucky Lily was holding my feet, not my head, when you carried me to the car!"

"That explains it!" Lily murmurs. I look at her, puzzled. "Oh, I saw you look really scared," She tells me.

Jonas grins. "I've missed you two so much!" He pulls Lily and me into a group hug. Lily's soft hair tickles my nose, making me smile.

"Missed you, too," Lily mutters, her voice almost lost in the hug.

**I'm wondering what you guys want to happen next! PM me or put it in a review, please! Bye! Thanks for reading!**


End file.
